Louder than a Whisper
by anabeav87
Summary: My take on what the future holds for Bonnie and Damon and possibly the rest of the gang after the season 6 finale. I don't know how long this story will be but I do want to explore what I want to happen in season 7. Either way a happy ending is a must!
1. Chapter 1

So I'm doing a new story! I have no idea where I'm going with this but I really wanted to try my hand at what I want for next season. Hope you guys like this first chapter. And to the people who have sent me personal messages I will be getting back to you soon. To everyone constantly supporting me and sending me positive reviews I am so grateful. Thank you! I appreciate all of you more than you could ever know.

Chapter 1

"So what do you want to do tonight? I'm thinking Chinese and a movie?"

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow at Caroline's comment but continued to unpack her massive suitcase. Moving into a new apartment off of campus with her best friend was the best choice they had made. It was still a week before classes but getting settled in early was something Caroline insisted on. The rest of the apartment including Caroline's room was officially unpacked and set up; the only thing left were Bonnie's clothes, shoes, and jewelry.

"Bonnie? Are you listening to me?" Caroline scooted to the end of Bonnie's bed and watched her friend hang up the countless dresses she had recently bought.

"Yep."

"So?"

"So…I think we need to discuss the elephant in the room." Bonnie abandoned her closet and sat beside Caroline on the bed. She placed her hand in Caroline's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You have to talk to him eventually Caroline."

Caroline kept her eyes glued to the floor. "I know and I will."

"It's been three months. A week after we sealed Elena in the tomb we left. We packed up and we ran away to Europe and the entire time you ignored Stefan. I know that must have hurt him. It's time to stop running and deal with things Care."

"And you and Damon? When are you going to handle that?"

Bonnie huffed loudly and got up to continue hanging her clothes. "Damon and I are different."

"How exactly?"

Bonnie sighed and her shoulders dropped in defeat before turning to face Caroline. "I'm the reason he's in pain, Care, and I can't fix that. I can't give him Elena without dying and I think I deserve to live."

"Of course you do."

"The point is, is that as long as I am living he can't have what he wants. I knew that if I stuck around, every time he saw me it would be a reminder of what he lost. I separated from him…for him. And not once did he try and contact me when we were gone. He doesn't miss me Care. And that's ok….."

"Is it? Because it doesn't sound like it is."

"I mean I'm not going to lie…it hurts. We had become really close. He became my best friend." She gave Caroline a shy smile. "No offense Care."

"No offense taken. But if he was your best friend why aren't you talking to him? Does he even know you're back?"

"Does Stefan?"

"I asked you first."

"No he doesn't. Our friendship is over Caroline. I knew that when he chose me over Elena. There's a real possibility he regrets that decision. Either way this conversation isn't about me. It's about you and Stefan. You love him Care. Stop punishing yourself for the things that you did when your switch was off and live…a lot of people don't get to." Bonnie's face fell with the comment and Caroline's mirrored hers. They had lost so many including Elena and wasting time not living was slightly insulting.

"You're right. Bonnie Bennett, the all knowing. I'll call him first thing in the morning but for right now we are going to celebrate moving into our own place. So movie and Chinese?"

Bonnie laughed and added her last pair of shoes to the rack hanging on the inside of her closet door. "Yeah, ok."

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

It was weird being back. It was even weirder to go on like nothing had changed in her life. Bonnie Bennett was changed for good and acting like a normal college student was almost laughable. However, that had not stopped her from marching into her first morning class, ready and willing to learn. She was happy with her choice to change her major to psychology and with the extra work she was willing to do, it was still possible for her to graduate on time.

After getting out of her last class of the day at 6:15, she called Caroline so they could decide on dinner. She was immediately sent to voicemail but before she could question it, a text came through.

" _Finally called Stefan and he asked me to stop by the boarding house. Just arrived. Will tell you all about it when I get home."_

A small smile graced Bonnie's face as she read the text. She knew how long the conversations between Stefan and Caroline could be so she knew she would be long sleep by the time Caroline got home. She put her car in park and gathered her bags and books before walking into the building. She climbed the three flights and then let herself into her dark apartment. She closed it behind her and flipped the bolt but immediately tensed afterwards, turning slowly to search out the dark apartment. She kept the room pitch black and tried to feel out the intruder with her magic alone.

"How was your trip?"

Bonnie jumped and slapped her hand on her chest as she tried to calm her heart. She flipped on the light switch with her magic and there on her couch was none other than Damon Salvatore. He was dressed in all black, had windblown hair, and his face was cold and distant.

"Damon? You scared the hell out of me!"

"Sorry. I wasn't aware that I had to announce myself. So…how was your trip?"

She walked to her room to set down her things but answered him regardless. "It was fine. I had fun."

"Hmmm where did you go?"

She turned towards the doorway of her room where his body was now taking up space. "Everywhere…"

"But obviously nowhere with a working phone….." His eyebrow lifted and he crossed his arms.

"What?"

"I said you obviously went nowhere with a working phone because I haven't heard from you in three months. I had no idea if you were alive or dead, Bonnie!"

"You didn't contact me either Damon."

"You ran away Bonnie. You packed up and left. I came to see you and you weren't there. I needed somebody. Hell, let's be honest, I needed you! And you weren't there. And so I assumed you needed space. I assumed you would take a couple of weeks by yourself and then you would come back to me so I left you alone. But weeks turned into a month and then one month turned into two and then it had been an entire summer. I gave up on ever seeing you again and then Caroline called Stefan and let him know you two had been back for a week and I thought it was only right of me to let you explain yourself. So explain to me Bonnie, how you could abandon me like that."

"I didn't abandon you, Damon."

He walked into the room fully and closed the door behind him before leaning against it, effectively blocking her exit. "You left without an explanation and cut off communication…sounds like abandonment to me."

Bonnie slipped the leather coat from her arms and straightened out her loose fitting t-shirt before taking a seat on her bed. "That's not what happened. I knew you needed time and space so I gave it to you. I did it for you."

"You did this for me? You left me alone and hurting for me? Please explain that."

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Stefan and Caroline entered the apartment and ground to a halt when they heard Bonnie and Damon going back and forth.

"We should probably leave and let them have a moment."

"Are you kidding me? No. We're going to go in my room and listen. This is going to be good."

"Caroline…" Stefan whispered as she dragged him into her bedroom, kept the lights off, and shut the door softly.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Damon and Bonnie didn't hear anything. She was searching for the right way to explain herself and he was trying his best not to overreact.

Bonnie stood and walked to him slowly, only keeping a few inches between them. She placed her hand on his chest, where his heart should beat. "You needed to have time without me being there…"

"Why?"

"You know why Damon."

He pulled her hand away from his chest and took a step back. "No I don' ?"

She huffed and pushed her hand through her thick hair. "I ruined your life Damon!"

His face became quizzical. "How?"

"You can't have Elena because of me. And no matter how sorry I am, I can't fix that. And I am sorry Damon."

He simply nodded. "The point is I didn't think you should have to lose the love of your life and have the reminder of why shoved in your face repeatedly so I left."

"I don't regret my decision, Bonnie."

"Don't you?"

He closed the space between them and took her hand, running his thumb across her knuckles. "No, I don't. Is that what you thought all this time?"

Bonnie's eyes filled with tears but did not fall. "I just assumed you hated me. I would understand if you did. I took away your happy ending."

"I don't hate you and I don't regret my decision. I had a choice to make. I could have walked out and let you die and had all I had ever wanted with Elena but the idea of never seeing you again, of never talking to you again was not something I was willing to go through. Also I figured it was time for someone to pick you, Bonnie Bennett. It was time for someone to save you. I weighed my options and I chose the most selfish one. I chose the one where I get a life with you and a life with her. I don't regret that. What I do regret is that I've had to go through the past three months without you. It was hard and I missed you more than I like to admit. So can we agree that I don't want to go through this without you and that you'll stick around from now on?"

The tears had finally made their way down her face and she let them happily. "Of course." He pulled her in for a hug and placed a soft kiss on her forehead as she hugged him as tightly as possible. 

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"Brother."

Stefan nodded at his brother in acknowledgement. "Brother."

Caroline plopped down beside Stefan on the overstuffed dark blue couch. "Has anyone ever told you guys how weird that brother thing is?"

Stefan's brow became quizzical. "Is it?"

"Just a little." Caroline said offhandedly as she grabbed her remote and turned on Netflix. She started skipping through the suggestions and then stopped immediately. "Oh my god, they have Roswell! Where's Bonnie?!"

Damon took a sip from his tumbler of whiskey and settled more into one of the matching overstuffed, flower print chairs. "She's in the shower."

"What?!" Caroline jumped up and sped into Bonnie's room to bang on the door. "Bonnie!"

"What?!"

"Roswell is on Netflix! Marathon?!"

"Oh my God, yes! Get the guys to order food!"

"Pizza?!"

"Perfect!"

Caroline came rushing back in the room and immediately stuck her hand out in front of Damon. Damon's face scrunched up at the action. "What?"

"Give me your card."

Damon pushed Caroline's hand out of his face. "Yeah I don't think so. Use Stefan's."

Caroline turned to Stefan with a hopeful look but he was already shaking his head no. "I didn't bring my wallet with me."

Before Caroline could make another comment Bonnie walked into the room wearing a simple white v-neck, black leggings, and fuzzy socks. Her hair had grown past her shoulders in the past three months and was thrown up in a messy, curly bun.

"What kind of pizza did you get? Cause I'm over your Hawaiian craze."

Caroline huffed and sat down beside Stefan again, keeping a safe distance between them. "I didn't get any. Stefan forgot his wallet and Damon is being stingy."

"That's ok. I'll just go grab my card. Be right back." As Bonnie passed the chair that Damon was sitting in he reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her in her tracks.

"No need, Bon Bon. I'll foot the bill." He leaned up in his seat to reach the wallet in his back pocket, all the while still holding her hand and rubbing his thumb back and forth over her wrist. He passed her his debit card with the other hand.

Bonnie took it with a sweet smile on her face. "Thanks Damon."

"Anytime."

Bonnie moved away from, but his hand was slow to let go, lingering until the last second and then she picked up the phone and sat in the matching flower print seat to order.

Caroline's brow lifted at the exchange and looked to Stefan for an explanation but he merely shrugged his shoulders. Bonnie ordered like the act had been normal and Damon continued to drink as though his actions didn't bring up some questions.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

 _Ding Dong._ Caroline didn't budge. She was wrapped up in Roswell and to be honest so was Stefan and Damon.

Bonnie chuckled and got up. "Please, please don't get up. I'll get it."

She flipped the lock and opened the door to a young guy with blond hair, who was barely out of high school. His name tag read Jacob. Bonnie gave him a bright smile.

"Hi." His face turned red and he managed a strangled hi back. He passed her the receipt so she could sign. She placed it on the wall beside the open door and started filling out the tip portion. Jacob cleared his throat.

"So are you new to the building?"

"Mmmhmmm my roommate and I just moved in about a week ago."

"That's nice. You like it so far?"

"Yeah. It's a beautiful building, and everyone's so nice, and the best part is it's affordable." She handed him back the pen and piece of paper.

He chuckled under his breath. "All good things. Does your, umm, boyfriend like the building?"

Bonnie's eyes widened. It had been a long time since a guy had blatantly hit on her. She opened her mouth several times before deciding to answer, but before she could she felt a chest pressed against her back. She turned her head slightly and looked up at Damon whose face held a predatory look. "Her boyfriend loves the building though he would prefer it if she lived with him."

Damon kissed the side of her head and then reached around her to grab the pizzas before closing the door in the shocked boy's face.

Bonnie stared holes into his back before following him into the kitchen. Caroline lifted the remote slowly and turned the tv down low enough so that she and Stefan could hear. Stefan didn't even try and pretend like he wasn't eavesdropping. He scooted to the edge of the couch and turned his head to the side so he could hear but continue to watch the show.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"What the hell, Damon?!"

"What?" Damon flipped open the top on one of the boxes and grabbed a slice to start chewing on.

"Why did you do that?"

"What did I do?"

"You completely cockblocked me."

"Cockblocked? Is there something you're not telling me, Bon Bon."

"You know what I meant, Damon. That guy was hitting on me and you pretended to be my boyfriend to stop it. Why?"

"You're my friend. I want to protect you."

"From the pizza delivery guy?"

"I don't trust anybody. And I certainly don't trust them with you. I have three people I care about completely in this world: one is the living room, one is in a coffin, and one is standing right in front of me. You are a priority for me and I'm going to look out for you. And that means against sociopaths and pizza delivery boys. I'm sorry if that bothers you but I'm not going to stop. Ok?"

Bonnie huffed, grabbed the pizza boxes, and stomped back to the living room. "Fine!"

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

It was late. It was three in the morning but thankfully neither of the girls had early morning classes. Caroline and Stefan were under a blanket and close together. Damon was on his fifth glass of whiskey and Bonnie had her entire body curled up in her seat under a blanket.

Caroline finally broke the silence. "You guys never told us…what happened to your Mom?"

Damon barely spoke above a whisper, not wanting to miss any of the show. "Mommy Dearest is missing."

"Missing?" Bonnie asked.

"Yep. After everything happened she and Enzo up and left. We haven't heard or seen them in months."

Stefan's eyes stayed glued to the tv but he spoke up anyway. "Not that we've looked."

"Well let's just hope that's not a sign of bad things to come."

"Great, Care! Now bad things are going to happen."

Care slapped her hand over her mouth. "I take it back!"

Everyone else just shook their heads at her and continued to watch Roswell.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"Care, Care, Caroline." Stefan nudged her awake.

"Hmmm, yeah?"

"You should go to bed."

"Ok. Come with me?"

Stefan just raised his eyebrow. "Not in a sexual way. You're just really comfy."

"Ummm, yeah ok." They both got up and made their way to her bedroom, while saying an offhanded goodnight to Bonnie and Damon before closing the door.

Damon raised an eyebrow at Bonnie in question but Bonnie merely shook her head no. "I'm not even going to touch that. But I am going to follow suit and go to bed."

"Ok. Goodnight Bon." Damon got up and started for the front door but stopped when Bonnie spoke.

"Damon we've been separated for awhile. I'm over it. Why don't you stay?"

"Yeah if you want. I'll take the couch."

"That's ok. We can share my bed. It's a queen."

"You sure?"

"Yep. But you have to at least keep your briefs on. I know you like sleeping nude."

"Yes ma'am."

Ten minutes later Bonnie slipped into the bed beside a half naked Damon. She flipped the light switch off with her magic. "Goodnight, Damon."

Damon was silent for a few seconds and so Bonnie turned her back to him and closed her eyes, then Damon spoke. "I'm happy your back, Bon."

Bonnie turned back to him and slipped her hand into his. "I'm happy I'm back to. I'm sorry for leaving."

"I get it. Just please don't do it again. I don't think I can make it without you and Elena."

"Speaking of Elena, how are you doing with her being gone?"

"Well it's not exactly my ideal choice but I'm dealing."

"Damon, you can be honest with me."

"I miss her, Bon. A lot. Every day I miss her more and more but having you back has made it a little easier. For the first time in three months I'm slightly happy and that's because of you. Don't leave me again Bonnie."

"I promise."

He smiled even though she couldn't see him. He pulled her into his side and she placed her cheek above his heart. "Night night, Bon Bon."

"Night, Damon." She breathed out a sigh of relieve and fell into a blissful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello lovelies. Well I actually had half of this typed up like a week ago but I scrapped it for two reasons. One: I hated it! And two: I did something in it and then another writer released a new chapter for her story and it had the same thing in it. I didn't want people to think I was stealing so I did away with it. If I end up doing it anyway in a later chapter I'll be sure to alert everyone and assure that writer that I'm not plagiarizing her work. Either way this is more of a filler but I like those so it doesn't bother me one bit. I am also working on my other two stories. Yes…that includes Falling Down the Rabbit Hole. I have some amazing people to think for that. But I'll put those thank you's up when I post for that story. I still have to answer all my messages. I haven't forgotten. I'm just horrible and swamped and tired. I need to get away! Lol! Oh yeah let me also apologize for any errors or confusing parts. It's almost 4 in the morning and I have begun to see stars, I'm so tired!

Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries, its characters, or its storyline. I only own my stories and original ideas.

Chapter 2

"I think we should have a party!"

Bonnie looked up from her sociology book to stare blankly at Caroline, who was currently braiding her hair into one long braid.

"What?"

"I said I think we should have a party."

"I heard. I'm just not understanding why….."

Caroline huffed and twisted a small pink rubber band at the end of her finished braid. "We need to live Bonnie. All we do is study and go to class."

Bonnie shook her head in the negative and closed her book after marking where she had left off. "That's not true. We also hang out."

"Yeah! With each other!"

"And Stefan and Damon."

Caroline started scrubbing her face with alcohol pads. "Yeah that needs to stop. We have become the dynamic foursome and it's getting slightly creepy."

"How is it creepy? You know besides the fact that Stefan stares at you constantly when he thinks no one is looking." A smile crept across her face.

"No he does not and that's not the creep factor. It's you and Damon. You're friendship freaks me the hell out."

Bonnie picked up her book and started highlighting once again. "We're friends just like you and me, Care. I don't understand why you are having such a big problem with this."

"I do not have a problem with it per say….."

Bonnie stopped mid word and stared at Caroline. "You make snide comments under your breath all the time, you constantly point out the differences between Stefan and Damon in front of Damon, no matter where Damon and I are you show up, and you almost hit the roof when you found out that we occasionally share a bed. Admit it, you hate our friendship."

"I do not hate your friendship! I hate Damon. Ok, ok, I dislike him immensely and you have to admit, the sleeping together thing is a little creepy. The only time you should share a bed with a man is if you have just had sex with him and I'm assuming that's not what's going on….." Caroline trailed off and gave Bonnie a long look.

"Of course not!"

"Thank god!" Caroline put her hand to her chest and breathed an exaggerated sigh of relieve.

"Care, he is my friend. My best friend. He gets me in ways that no ever has. Just like you and Stefan. He is also in love with one of my other best friends. I'm not stupid and I'm not into him. And the bed sharing thing started in 1994 and I have no problem continuing it here."

"Why did it start in the prison world?"

"We were depressed. I know that sounds a little melodramatic but we were. We were dead and away from family and friends, and there was no forseeable way out. Sleeping got hard for both of us so we would stay up late, till like 3 or 4 in the morning watching movies until our bodies gave out. We always did it in his bed because it was the most comfortable and the biggest and after a while that was the only way we could sleep…together. Every now and then I want that peace back and he does too so we share a bed but that's all it is. He's there for me and I want to be there for him."

Caroline's face was twisted up in confusion. "Hmmm I can honestly say I never thought anyone could like Damon Salvatore this much. Well fine if this friendship means so much to you I guess I can be more understanding. Now back to the party idea. What do you think? We need to have some fun. We deserve it. I just want to be normal college girls…..get a little wasted, make out with a random guy….."

"There's only one problem with your plan."

"What's that?"

Bonnie chuckled. "We're not normal college girls. You're a vampire, I'm a witch that has died a million times, and our other best friend is the real life version of Sleeping Beauty. Accept it Care, we're not normal and I don't think we ever could be."

Caroline got off of the love seat and sat beside Bonnie before removing the book from her hands and lying it on the coffee table to gain her full attention. "But what if we could be? I know logically it's not possibly but for one night I would like to pretend. I would like to pretend that I'm a normal human girl who is failing all her classes because she parties way too much. I want to pretend that I'm dating casually in the hopes of meeting the one and that when I do we're going to buy some modern loft in New York and get married and I'll be on Broadway and he'll be, I don't know, an ad executive, and one day we'll add to our little home and have two kids and eventually move to the country where we'll raise them and our golden retriever." Caroline turned back to Bonnie with a goofy grin. Bonnie just looked confused.

"How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Awhile. Oh come on! Like you haven't thought about how your life would have been if we hadn't been surrounded by supernatural crap all the time."

"Well yeah I guess so….."

"And? How would it be? Paint me a picture."

"I don't really have one. I would just be happy."

"That's it! Fine, the point is let's be normal for one night. Please?"

"You know what? Why the hell not! So where are we going to have this super normal, awesome college party?"

"The woods."

Bonnie's mouth fell open. "You are joking right?"

"Nope! It'll be fun. Just like old times."

"People died in old times."

"Ok that may be true but not this time. We are going to have fun for once and not worry about anything else. Agreed?"

Bonnie smiled widely and nodded eagerly. "Agreed!"

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Bonnie had decided if they were going to be normal: looking cute, flirting, and getting a few numbers would be acceptable. Before leaving for the party she had donned shorter than short khaki shorts, a black cami with a knot in the bust, and wedge sandals with black cloth fabric that wrapped around her ankles. Her hair was in loose curls and she had pink gloss on her lips and smoky dark eyes. Caroline had gone the opposite because according to her men flocked to innocent looking girls so she had put on a mint colored lace cami, white shorts and white wedge sandals with little flowers all over them. Her makeup was simple but her hair was curled and tossed, creating an innocent but sexy look at the same time.

Bonnie had left for the party right after her last class which didn't end until 10:00. After a quick shower, getting dressed, and the drive she arrived a little before 11:00. Caroline was already there and had been for at least an hour and a half. Bonnie parked several feet away from the opening into the woods. She slipped her keys into her snug fit pocket and made her way through the forest to the sounds of heavy music. She was still far out enough that she felt slightly alone in the middle of the woods and with that feeling she also felt slightly scared. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and a shiver ran down her spine. She shook it off and picked up her pace. She broke through the woods into the opening of the party and halted. There were people everywhere. The woods were busting at the seams with people and ninety percent of the faces were unrecognizable. She immediately searched the crowd for a halo of blonde and sighed when she spotted it.

Caroline was smiling like a fool and twirling a piece of hair around her finger as she listened to the obviously drunk male talking. When Bonnie approached she heard the tail end of his rant.

"And that's why men are superior to women, you know?"

Caroline placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "Yeah, totally."

"Hey, Care."

Caroline whipped around and then threw her arms in the air before screaming, 'BONNIE!' She then threw her arms around Bonnie and squeezed until Bonnie felt a sharp pain in her rib at which point she started slapping Caroline on the back to alert her.

Caroline let her go quickly. "Oh sorry!" Bonnie jerked back slightly at the smell of Care's breath. She was sloshed and very happy.

"Care, how much have you had to drink?"

"Only a tiny bit! I swear!" Care laughed and shook her head in the negative before becoming serious at an alarming rate. "I need to be slightly tipsy..." she whispered the next part, "Stefan's coming."

"And whose fault is that? You didn't have to tell him about the party."

"I know….."

"Admit it, you wanted to see him."

"Possibly. Either way we are not discussing that train wreck right now. Let's get you a drink and a hot man to flirt with."

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Two hours into being there Bonnie was tipsy, happy, and for the first time in a long time, relaxed. Caroline was still talking to the idiot who had bullet points as to why men were ruling the world. She looked completely bored but he was tall and gorgeous so she could ignore the steady flow of shit falling out of his mouth. Bonnie had been drinking and minding her own business a few feet away from the party when an overly built blonde with gray eyes and a deep voice approached her. He was a chemistry major and soon they were in a full conversation about genetics versus society and how they could both impact a person's personality. He had a lot of good points but he also entertained her beliefs about the impact of childhood on adulthood. She was intrigued and found herself gearing up to ask him out on a coffee date when a deep voice interrupted them.

"Who's your new friend, Bon Bon?"

Bonnie jumped a little before turning to the grinning vampire. "Damon what are you doing here?"

Damon put his hand on his chest like he was hurt. "You don't want me here? Are you ashamed of me now?"

"Seriously why are you here?"

He shrugged and he suddenly looked bored. "Stefan wanted to come spy on Caroline and was too much of a wimp to come by himself. I certainly didn't come because you invited me….."

"I didn't invite you because I knew it was going to be a party full of drunk college kids and you would be annoyed. I prefer it if everyone leaves this party intact."

He smiled a predatory smile and then turned to the guy she had been talking to, who was now staring openly at them. "I promise to behave. So, what's your name?"

The guy looked back and forth between Bonnie and Damon. "I'm Brad. Nice to meet you." Damon grabbed his hand and pumped it up and down in an exaggerated manner.

"It's nice to meet you too. Now, Brad was it, what's your major?"

Bonnie put her hand on Damon's shoulder and squeezed, digging her nails in. He shook her hand off and smiled at Brad who seemed oblivious to what was going on.

"It's chemistry. Do you go to Whitmore?"

"Oh god no! I've gone to real colleges, like Harvard. But that's neither here nor there. Let's discuss the real issue, shall we? What are your intentions with Bonnie, Brad?"

"Damon stop it."

Damon turned to her with a lifted brow. "Why? Scared of his answer?"

"Will you excuse us?" She asked Brad, but didn't wait for his answer. She grabbed Damon's leather jacket and dragged him a few feet away where there were no people.

She put her hands on her hips and gave him an annoyed look. He sighed and crossed his arms. "Uh oh. I know that look. I'm about to get scolded aren't I?"

"What the hell is your problem? I know you're intent on looking out for me and I appreciate that but you seem just a little too cold. Is this about Elena? Is her absence finally catching up with you, because you promised that you would talk to me if things got too hard….."

Damon's face became pinched. "I was just giving you a hard time. It's what friends do. Stop psychoanalyzing me. I'm fine. I haven't lost it and drained anyone. I haven't destroyed the whole town. So I'm a little colder and a little more sarcastic. She's been gone for five months…that's it. I think I can be a bit of a dick if I want." He turned away and started walking away from her but she grabbed his hand and held it until he turned back.

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on in your head. I've been back for two months and we spend almost every day together but we never talk about anything personal. I'm a little worried. You know you can tell me anything, right? I would never judge you."

He sighed heavily. "I just wanted an easy night. No heavy conversations. I want to drink and laugh and make fun of Stefan drooling all over Caroline. I want one night where I don't miss her so do you think you could just lay off and give that to me?"

She dropped his hand and stepped back. "Fine, Damon. Enjoy your night and I'll do the same."

"What does that mean?"

She didn't answer though. She walked back to Brad and took his hand before leading him into the woods and away from the party.

Damon huffed loudly and dug his hands into his hair. He took a step towards the woods to follow her but then stopped short and turned on his heel to find Stefan.

Stefan was leaning in to Caroline and playing with the hem of her shirt as he spoke to her. When Damon approached Caroline looked around him to where Bonnie was storming off.

"Where's Bonnie going?"

Stefan turned around to look in the same direction and slipped his arm around Caroline's shoulder. The alcohol was making her less inhibited so she leaned into his side.

"Who's that guy with her?" Stefan asked.

Damon took his jacket off and laid over the side of the truck beside them before swiping a bottle of Jack out of a passing guy's hand. "Yeah…I'm not worried about it." He took a long pull and leaned against the truck as he watched barely clothed girls walk pass him.

"What did you do?" Stefan asked.

"I didn't do anything. Why is it always my fault?"

Caroline chuckled. "Because you're always the one messing up stuff. She was talking to you and then all of sudden she took a random guy into the woods with her. Bonnie isn't that type of girl so you must have done something."

"Maybe she is. Maybe you don't know her as well as you think. I mean I am the best friend now so I think I would know her a little bit better than you."

Stefan gave him a stern look. "Stop it. What did you do?"

He took another sip and stared off in the direction that Bonnie had stomped off. "We had a fight. She was just pushing too hard and I snapped at her. It happens all the time. She just needs a minute and then once she's not so mad at me I'll apologize."

"But who's the guy?" Caroline asked.

"He's innocent. Just some Whitmore guy. I've got my ears tuned on them so if he tries anything she's not into I'll break it up. Now how about a drinking game? Every time Stefan wrinkles his forehead we take a drink."

Stefan laughed and pushed his shoulder but picked up a bottle anyway to prove which one of them could hold their liquor the best.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

She had stormed off, dragging poor Brad with her. She wanted to show Damon that she could leave him alone, she could mind her own business and have fun without worrying about him every five minutes but now that they were in the middle of the woods and far away from the party she wasn't sure what she had been planning. Brad was cute and funny but she wasn't the type of girl to hook up with a random stranger so now she was at a lost as what to do. She began walking ahead of him but he trailed behind anyway. Just as she was thinking up an excuse to head back to the party he began talking.

"So who was that? That guy back there."

"That would be Damon."

"How do you know him?"

Bonnie chuckled huskily. She slowed her pace and wrapped her arms around herself to combat the chill. "That is a very long, complicated story….."

"I like complicated."

"Ok." She looked up at the full, heavy moon in the sky and kept her eyes on as she continued to walk slowly over the wet, soft leaves. She figured she could unload a little on this guy. She probably needed the purge and as long as she watched her word choices she could probably get away with it without him asking too many questions. "I met him about 4 years ago. He came to town with his brother who started dating one of my best friends. Anyway Damon came to meet up with this girl he use to date….someone he was still in love with. Not the nicest person but he didn't seem to mind. It turns out that while he was still in love with her, she was in love with his little brother. After that came out things just snowballed until everything became a disaster. It lead to events that destroyed a lot of people's lives including mine. I used to hate Damon with a passion but then we got to really know each other. And it turns out he's more than a pretty face and a sharp tongue. He's so much more….." She trailed off and waited for his reply.

"That's not much of a story."

"Trust me the detailed version is too much to handle."

"Hmmm so how long ago did you two date?"

She coughed to avoid choking and whipped around to look at him. He stopped abruptly. "Damon and I never dated. We're just friends."

"Does he know that?"

"What do you mean does he know that? Of course he does. Why would you ask that?"

"He just looks at you in a way that I don't think many friends look at each other."

"I don't know what that means. He looks at me in a normal way and we have never, ever even entertained the thought of being something more than friends."

"Are you sure about that? You've never even thought about it casually?"

Bonnie turned away from him and looked at the moon before she began walking again. "I don't know how to answer that. I mean….I guess…..I may have-"

She stopped short when she heard a grunt behind her. She turned around but Brad was gone. She turned in a complete circle but he was nowhere to be seen. "Brad?"

She walked a couple feet back toward she party and looked around her once more. "BRAD?!"

She strained her ears and just as she was about to give up and walk back altogether she heard a slow dripping coming from behind her. She started breathing heavily. She turned back toward the sound and saw a few drops fall to the ground. She knew it was blood before she even bent down for a closer inspection. Before she could even gather her thoughts, Brad came crashing down from a tree overhead. The front of his throat was ripped out and his leg was twitching as he gargled around the blood collecting in his mouth. He was still alive. She was in utter shock but she knew she needed help. She was about to reach for her phone in her back pocket when a loud thump came from behind her. She turned just her head to look behind her and just a few feet away was a dark figure crouching down, facing her. She couldn't make out any features but its eyes glowed a blinding yellow. It stood to full height and that's when she realized it was a man. He then came barreling at her and she did the only thing she could think of…she screamed.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

There was a full circle of guys surrounding Caroline as she squared off against Damon and Stefan. It didn't seem fair that she was the only person on her team as they took equal amounts of shots but it did seem like she was winning.

"Come on Care, we both know you can't beat both of us." Damon taunted.

She flipped her hair back, downed the clear, burning liquid, and slapped the little shot glass back down on the table. "Well one of you could be a gentleman and bow out so I'm only up against one of you."

Damon shook his head in the negative. "No can do, blondie."

Stefan spoke up at the same time. "It is a little unfair for you to have to compete against both of us."

Damon shot him an annoyed look. "You have got to be kidding me. You are so whipped."

"Damon, we should at least be fair. I just think we don't both need to be-" Stefan stopped short when Damon held a hand up and strained his head in the direction of the woods that Bonnie was currently in. His eyes became narrowed as he waited for something, Stefan didn't know. But then the scream reached all three vampires ears.

"Bonnie…." Damon whispered and then sped off leaving a confused crowd of people. Caroline and Stefan apologized for ending the game and rushed off too, at a human pace until they broke the woods. They came to a standstill behind Damon who had his face upturned. "I smell blood." He took off again and they followed him. They halted again when they came upon the body of the now dead Brad.

"Fuck. Bonnie?! Where the hell could she be?"

Stefan took a step forward. "Let's split up. We can cover more ground."

"I think that's the best choice. Wait do you hear that?" Caroline asked.

Damon listened carefully and could hear soft footfalls hitting the wet ground. They sounded like they were barely making contact with the ground. It was Bonnie. Damon rushed forward.

"Bonnie?!" She broke through a thick grouping of trees and jumped into Damon's arms. She was crying and shaking violently. He rubbed his hand up and down her back and crushed her into his chest. "It's ok. I've got you…..I've got you." Once the tremors slowed a bit he put her on her feet before holding her head in his large hands and lifting her face up so he could get a good look at her. "Are you ok? Did you get hurt?"

She looked down at her blood covered clothes. "No. It's Brad's blood. There's something here. In the woods. We need to get everyone out of here."

"In a minute. Let me just make sure you're ok."

"I'm fine, Damon. We have to get those people out of the woods. You can check me for every injury in the world once all of them are safe, ok?"

He nodded and gave a nod to Stefan. They all sped out of the forest and practically threw everyone out. It had taken hours for everyone to arrive but it only took a few minutes for the three vampires to remove everyone. Once it was clear, Stefan and Damon moved Brad's body somewhere it could be easily discovered and then gave Matt a head's up.

"We'll take Caroline's SUV back to the boarding house and you and Bonnie can take her car."

"Yep. See you in a few." Caroline and Stefan drove off. The brothers had chosen to run to the party instead of risking the chance that someone would scratch up Damon's car so they didn't have to worry about another vehicle. Damon placed Bonnie in the passenger seat and locked her seatbelt in place. She hadn't spoken much since they found her in the woods. Damon sighed and peeled out of the make-shift parking space.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Stefan looked away from the road for a few seconds to study Caroline. She continued to look forward but she could feel his gaze on her. After a few seconds she gave up pretending.

"I'm fine, Stefan."

"Are you sure? You don't look fine."

"I just wanted a night where I could pretend to be normal but I guess that's too much to ask for in a town like Mystic Falls."

Stefan nodded but remained silent.

"It's never going to stop is it?"

"What?"

"The death. The violence. The bad luck. We're never going to be happy are we?"

Stefan reached for her hand and was surprised when she accepted his. They intertwined fingers and squeezed gently.

"One day things won't be so bad. I know that's hard to believe but it's true. One day you'll get to be happy all the time but until then you have me. I'm not going anywhere, Caroline. I need you to believe that."

"I do." She smiled sweetly at him. "Do you mind if Bonnie and I stay the night?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

They rode the rest of the way with their fingers laced on the console.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"Here." Bonnie took the glass of water offered by Damon. She sipped it slowly before sitting it down on the coffee table beside her.

He sat beside her, to wait for her to explain and Stefan and Caroline sat on the opposite couch.

"Did you see anything Bonnie? Anything that might help us figure out what the hell just happened?" Caroline asked.

Bonnie nodded slowly and took a deep breath. "I saw glowing yellow eyes."

"Yellow eyes?" Stefan asked as he slid forward on the couch and laced his fingers.

"Yep. Yellow and sharp fangs."

"Werewolf mid change?" Damon asked.

"No. It was definitely a vampire. But it was so fast and so calculated. It's like it knew every turn I was going to make as I ran, before I even made it. And there's one more thing….."

"Ok….." Damon said as he turned fully into her.

"I felt magic. A lot of it coming from that thing."

Damon closed his eyes tightly and clenched his jaw before getting up and walking over to the bar to top off his drink. "So it turns out Mommy Dearest has her little family back and their loose."

Stefan's brow became pinched. "What are we going to do about this?"

Damon shook his head. "Not tonight. Tonight we are going to get cleaned up and sleep. Bon Bon you can use my shower and I already laid out an extra shirt for. I'll wait until you're done to come up."

Bonnie nodded and made her way up the stairs. A few seconds later the shower turned on. Stefan and Caroline continued to stare at Damon.

"What?"

"We're really not going to discuss this tonight?" Stefan asked.

"Nope. Bonnie looks shaken up. More than she should be. I'm going to tackle that and you two are going to go upstairs to separate bedrooms to give some semblance of friendship but then find your way to each other in the middle of the night. I say just skip all that and sleep in the same damn bed. It's easier and less dramatic."

Caroline's face became tight. "Whatever, Damon." She walked out of the room and up the stairs with Stefan on her heel but though they scoffed at what he said, he only heard one bedroom door shut. He smiled and downed the rest of his drink before making his way upstairs and to his bedroom. The shower had turned off a few seconds earlier and he knew Bonnie was quick to dress. He knocked anyway and entered once he heard a soft, 'Come in.'

She was sitting on the edge of his bed. Her hair was down around her shoulders and she was wearing one of his button-up black shirts. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it. He studied her with narrowed eyes but she just continued to study him.

"Are we going to talk about it?"

"Talk about what? Brad? Or the witch, vampire things?"

"I actually meant, how shaken up you are.'

"Someone just got their throat ripped out in front of me. I think I can be a little shaken up."

"Of course you can but I think it's more than that. I think this is remnants of what Kai did to you."

"And I think that just like you don't want to discuss Elena with me, I don't want to discuss Kai with you." She got of the bed and started walking toward the door with every intention of leaving the room but Damon didn't budge. He put his hands on her shoulders and held her in place as she lifted cold eyes in his direction.

"Was it the chasing? Is that what did it? Is that what reminded you of Kai?"

Bonnie shook her head and tried to push him back with her small hands pressed flatly against his chest. "I don't want to do this.'

"Tough because we're doing it. You ran from that reject vampire and it reminded you of running away from Kai. And no you don't have to confirm that for me because I can put two and two together. All you need to do is understand something."

She swallowed thickly. "Understand what?"

"I'm here. I wasn't there when Kai did all those things to you but I'm here now and I won't let anything happen to you. I'll die before I let something happen to you again. Do you understand?"

Her eyes stung and she blinked rapidly to soothe them. "I understand." He pulled her in for a hug and she wrapped her arms around his middle and held on as tightly as possible. After a few seconds he pulled back and kissed her forehead.

"You gonna be ok?"

"Yeah."

He nodded and broke the embrace before pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it in the corner of the room. "I'm gonna take a shower."

"Yeah ok. Damon?"

He turned back to her with a lifted brow. "Do you mind if I sleep in here tonight?"

"I already assumed you were." His mouth lifted in a shit eating grin before he walked in his bathroom and shut the door.

Bonnie turned off the overhead light and switched on the small lamp on his side before slipping underneath the cool sheets. His smell overwhelmed her and within a few minutes she was in a soft slumber. She was still aware, however, when he finally slipped into bed. He settled into the bed and readjusted his pillow before scooting up behind her and wrapping his arm around her waist. He put his head in the crook between her shoulder and neck and breathed in the sweet smell of her hair before drifting off.


	3. Chapter 3

I usually do a whole big intro before the chapter starts but I'm too tired. Lol! I don't even know how good or bad this chapter is but I needed to finish it and put it up. Just so everyone is aware that read my other stories, I am working on new chapters for both my chapter stories. Repose is not going great but I love it so I will work through it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries, its characters, or concept. I only own the thoughts for my original stories.

Chapter 3

 _Red. There was bright red everywhere. Droplets and smears of red. The stone underneath her legs was cold and hard but she didn't notice. Light was barely making its way into the dwelling through the cracked door but the light that did touch her skin didn't burn her. Vines were taking over the room and seemed to be devouring it. The sound of sucking echoed off the walls and her lips drew the blood from the dusty colored neck. She pushed away the long dark hair so that she could get to the torn skin more easily. Once she finished the last drop she sat back and let out a contented sigh and smiled broadly as the blood dripped from her incisors._

 _The door of the mausoleum creaked open and a dark haired, blue eyed boy stepped in._

" _What have you done, Bonnie?"_

 _She looked down at the now dead face of her best friend and then back up to the blue eyed devil. "What I had to."_

Bonnie jerked awake. She put her hand on her heart as it beat wildly in her tight chest and her eyes darted around the room in a craze. At first she wasn't sure where she was but she quickly remembered the previous night and realized she was in Damon's bed. The room was spotless, quiet, and empty besides herself. She took deep, cleansing breathes and tried to rationalize the dream she had just had. Seeing herself as a vampire had been a shock she still hadn't recovered from. Was the dream foreshadowing of things to come? Should she tell Damon? She knew she should but then she would be inclined to tell him about the rest of the dream. She would have to tell him about Elena and how in her dream she was draining her best friend alive. All of it was confusing but the most confusing part was what she said in response to Damon's question. Why did she have to kill Elena? What could be the reason for something so horrific? She decided to chalk it up as a bad dream brought on by last night's events.

She slid up in the bed and settled against the headboard. She rested there for a moment as she took in the room. The house was quiet and the room was dark because of the black-out curtains. A sliver of light lit up the bed from where the curtains were slightly parted. After a few seconds she pulled the comforter back and exited the bed. She walked into the bathroom, folded up the sleeves of Damon's black button up to her elbows, and washed and brushed her teeth. Damon kept an extra toothbrush under the sink for her. When she was done she finger combed her curls and pulled Damon's shirt fully into place so it hit her knees before exiting the room and walking down the stairs to find another person in the house.

She could hear the low beat of music coming from the kitchen. As she got closer she realized it was Kanye West's College dropout. Damon was in a simple dark green shirt and dark jeans and was pouring batter, with what looked like chocolate chips, into a waffle maker and rapping under his breath. He seemed oblivious to her so she watched him for a few seconds before entering the kitchen. It was shocking how drastically their relationship had changed. He was her safe port now.  
Whenever something bad or scary happened now she instantly sought out Damon's comfort. She knew that no matter what happened he would save her. It was a new feeling…having someone care so much for her. She had always been the sidekick who was expected to save the day and now she had this big, bad vampire fighting for her every single day of her life. She was important to someone. It made her chest fill with warmth as she watched him; it didn't hurt that he wasn't too hard on the eyes. He really was gorgeous. She could admit that. He was her friend and he was beautiful just like Caroline. Her brow knotted together and she began thinking about the comment Brad had made. Why had he thought that she and Damon were more than friends or had been more than friends? Just as she was about to delve into the possible reasons, Damon spoke and pulled her out of her trance.

"How long exactly are you going to stand there staring at me? It's getting kind of creepy."

She shook her head to remove the fuzz of what she had been contemplating. "Sorry. I was thinking about something." She walked into the kitchen and sat on a stool at the island, readjusting so that his shirt covered all her parts nicely.

"Oh yeah. What about?" He removed a waffle and started pouring in batter for another.

"Nothing important. Are you actually making waffles?"

His brow rose at her comment. "You know I'm sure I can put you on my plan if you want. I'll just claim you as my child…you're certainly young enough."

Her mouth drew up tight. "What?"

"You are clearly going blind so I'm offering to put you on my insurance to get you some glasses. I'm thinking bifocals."

She laughed openly at that. "Shut up! I can see that you're making waffles, I'm just shocked that you're not making your infamous pancakes."

"Not so infamous if I keep making them, are they?"

"True." She slid of the stool and started making a cup of coffee with his Keurig. She scratched the back of her calf with her toes and selected a flavor before putting it in the Keurig. Damon leaned back from the stove and watched as her toe slid up and down her calf.

"That shirt seems a lot shorter than it did last night….."

She turned from putting sugar in her cup. "Hmmm?"

He shook his head to clear it. "Nothing. So how are you feeling?"

She shrugged a small shoulder and sat back down at the island, as she sipped her hot beverage. "I have a few scratches and a bruise on my thigh but other than that I'm fine."

Damon turned off the waffle maker and began making her plate. "I didn't mean physically."

"I'm okay, really. I'm dealing with things. I know Kai messed me up; I just need some time to become normal again. Having a crazed blood thirsty animal chasing me probably didn't help the situation."

"Maybe you need to see somebody." He placed her plate in front of her and then sat down beside her at the island.

She shook her head in the negative and began eating her waffles with gusto. "I don't need to see a shrink, Damon. I need for my life to be normal again. I need to go to class and date and live and not be worried that I'm going to die for the millionth time. That's what I need."

He reached for her hand and squeezed it lightly. "I don't know if any of that is possible. You've never been normal, Bonnie. You're from the oldest line of witches; you can't be normal but you can go to class and as far as dying goes, that's not going to happen. I won't let it."

She squeezed his hand back and continued to eat her breakfast. "I know you won't. I guess I can have both. I can save the world and be a normal girl if I really want to. I can increase my course load and start looking at grad schools. I can even start the tedious process of dating again."

"Maybe not that part….."

"You mean because of my track record with men? You're right. I mean look at Brad. I lead him to his own death. I feel so bad."

He got up and started clearing off the island. "Don't. It wasn't your fault."

"He followed me, Damon and he died because of it. I did that. He was a really nice guy…he didn't deserve to die."

"A lot of people don't deserve to die but it happens. And if I'm being honest Brad wasn't that great of a loss."

"For some reason, I don't think his parents feel that way. How can you not feel bad for him?"

He shrugged. "Death doesn't phase me like it does most people. I've seen it too much and I've caused too many of them. It sucks that he was killed but the only person I cared about when I heard that scream was you. I needed to get to you and make sure you were safe. Once I knew you were I didn't care about anyone else, especially some random human that I had just met five minutes before."

She exhaled slowly. "You have to start caring about more people than just me and Stefan. You could lose us and then what are you going to do? Just be alone?"

"Stefan's not going anywhere and I'm not ready to talk about losing you. I know I will one day but I can't think about that right now. Right now we need to focus on our current situation."

"Which would be?"

"Finding my mother and 'her family,' and then killing them all."

"How are we going to do that exactly?"

"We are not going to do anything. Stefan and I are going to search all the dark and dank spots a nest of vampires would hide until we find them. You and Caroline are going to go back to Whitmore and stay there until we call you. Now let me see how bad that bruise is on your thigh."

She turned around on her stool so he could reach her better. He dropped down on his knee and lifted the shirt to her upper thigh so he could see the damage. "I'm not some damsel in distress Damon. I can take care of myself and had been for a while before you decided I was important. Owww!" She yelled as he poked at the black and red mass on her thigh. She smacked him hard on the back.

He laughed breathlessly. "Sorry! It's not exactly beautiful but it should heal pretty nicely in a few days. Do you want me to give you some of my blood?" He looked up at her as his fingertips ghosted back and forth over her thigh.

Her jaw became slightly slack. "No…no I'll be fine."

"Is that from last night?" They both jumped and looked to the doorway where Stefan stood watching them intently.

Damon stood slowly but his hand lingered on the bruise for a few more seconds before falling away. Bonnie immediately pulled the shirt down once his hand fell away.

"Yeah. I fell and must have landed on something."

Stefan nodded slowly. "Are you going to be okay?"

Damon took her mug and walked to the sink to dump it. "She'll be fine. She needs to go change and get on the road to Whitmore though. Big test tomorrow."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and jumped off the stool. "Yes, daddy."

"Say it again." He said with a sexy smile.

She chuckled and continued to make her way upstairs.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Stefan stared at Damon from the doorway. Damon finished loading the dishwasher, closed the door, and then turned to Stefan with a heavy sigh. "Why are you staring at me? Is this about to be another heart to heart about blondie?"

"Damon…how close are you and Bonnie exactly?"

Damon placed his hands on his hips and stared at his brother. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I just walked in on you caressing her thigh."

Damon laughed openly. "Caressing?"

"You know what I mean. I've seen the small intimate touches, the lingering looks, and the whispered conversations. I just feel like you two are a little closer than you're admitting. Did something happen in 1994 that you want to share?"

"I'm not discussing this with you. She's my friend. My best friend and that's all she is."

"And the touches and whispered conversations that no one is allowed to hear?"

"Stefan I need you to drop this before you make me angry. What happens between Bonnie and I is our business but it's all platonic. Now get dressed so we can start looking for Mommy Dearest."

Damon walked past his brother, bumping his shoulder slightly. Stefan looked at his retreating back with a sigh. He was starting to wonder if Damon knew exactly what was happening between himself and Bonnie.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

The library was eerily quiet which was understandable seeing that it was 1 in the morning. Bonnie had been in the same hard wooden seat for the past three hours studying for the last two fall finals she had to take the next afternoon. Her eyes had begun drooping a little over 30 minutes ago but she kept waking with a start every time. She was not going to fail this test. She was currently sporting a 4.0 and wanted to keep it. She turned yet another page and began studying the highlighted sections. Delta Rae was singing about a cold day in heaven through the headphones connected to her phone and she basically had the library all to herself.

Her phone buzzed, cutting into the song briefly. Caroline's name shown on the screen with one text message.

" _Are you still at the library, Bonnie? It's almost 2 in the morning."_

" _I just need another hour or so and I'll be good."_

" _You need to stop this crazy pursuit of perfection and just live."_

" _You wanted perfection too. How about the party?"_

" _I wanted to be normal for a night not perfect. You are acing everything. Give yourself a break and come get some sleep. And tomorrow after our finals we can go out and celebrate. What do you say?"_

" _Club and tequila shots?"_

" _You know it! And I'll even be nice and invite the boys. They could probably use the break after searching for their horrible excuse of a mother for weeks."_

" _Ok but you don't have to invite the boys if you don't want. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you."_

" _I can actually hear the sarcasm in your voice! Ok so I might want to be around Stefan just a little bit but that's it. I miss our friendship and tomorrow could be a free pass."_

" _Just for the friendship or for something more?"_

" _I'm not ready to even think about that right now. I'm still getting used to being parentless, I can't add the stress of trying to fix my broken relationship with Stefan to it."_

" _It gets easier….."_

" _?"_

" _Being parentless…it gets easier. Ok well enough sad talk. I'm packing up my bag and coming home. Be there soon."_

" _Ok!"_

Bonnie slipped her books into her one shoulder, mint flower printed bag, slipped her phone in her back pocket and made her way outside. Their apartment wasn't very far away so she had walked there but she was now slightly regretting her decision. It was darker now and no one was walking around the campus. She practically choked the strap of her bag when she heard a stick snap. She turned her head frantically around her but saw nothing. Her phone went off in her back pocket and she let out a small shriek before wrenching it from her pocket. She answered without looking at the name, assuming it was Caroline.

"Caroline you scared the hell out of me!"

"Who is Caroline?"

She jerked the phone from her ear and stared at it for a couple of seconds before answering. "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong number."

"I don't believe so. This is Bonnie correct?"

"Yes….I'm sorry who is this?"

"Just a fan."

"A fan?"

"Of your magic. There aren't many witches that can do what you can. I've heard all about you and I thought it was only proper to introduce myself."

"Who is this?"

"A friend of a friend. You may know her as Lily."

Bonnie stopped dead in her tracks and started to panic slightly. She was out in the open, exposed. It was dark, late, and there was no one around.

"What do you want?"

"Like I said all I want to do is introduce myself and offer some advice."

She started walking faster, trying not to draw attention to herself. She didn't want to appear to be running in case this man, whoever he was, was watching her. "And that advice would be?"

"In the end, he will always pick the brunette."

"Excuse me?"

"I have heard about the curse that his love is under and though he saved you before does not mean he will save you again. Lily will give him his options and he will pick her. When he does, we welcome you to join us."

"I am done with this conversation."

"Very well. Then I believe it is time to meet in person." The line went dead and just as she lowered it from her ear she heard heavy footsteps coming for her. She turned and saw a man with the same yellow eyes and sharp teeth but a different build coming at her.

She began running as fast as her legs could carry her. She had a death grip on her bag and her phone and she was panting heavily. She turned and swung her arm in the air which sent him flying several feet away from her, just as she saw her building. She made it and typed in the door code frantically and managed to get inside the building just before he reached her. He slammed his hands on the door and she jumped back from the door. The door was steel and several panes of hard glass so she felt slightly safe. The overhead light had started to fade from overuse so she could only make out the shadows of his face, yellow eyes, and sharp teeth pulled into a tight grin.

She put a protection spell around the building and ran up the stairs, feeling his eyes follow her until she was out of sight. She slammed the door behind her and bolted it before dropping her bag to the floor and letting her head fall back to connect with the hard surface. Caroline came rushing out of her bedroom.

"Bonnie, oh my god, are you okay?"

Bonnie shook her head in the negative as she tried to catch her breath.

"What happened?"

"One of them chased me….." She explained in between breaths.

"One of? One of the vitches?!"

Bonnie dragged herself to the couch and fell down on it. "Yeah. He had my number, Care. He knew who I was and who Damon is and even what happened to Elena. He told me that one day Damon would have to choose between me and Elena again and that he would pick her and when he did, that they wanted me to join them. They want me to be one of them. And a part of me already knew it but I kept telling myself that I was wrong."

Caroline sat down beside her with a dumbfounded look and put a hand on Bonnie's knee. "What do you mean you already knew it? What aren't you telling us?"

Bonnie kept her eyes down and on the hand on her knee. "In the woods when it was chasing me, it seemed like it was playing with me. I don't think it was going to actually kill me. And then there was the dream I had a few weeks ago….."

"What dream?"

"I was a vampire and I was draining….."

Caroline scooted closer to her. "Draining who?"

"Elena." She whispered. "And I seemed convinced that I had to do it. I told Damon it was something I had to do."

"Damon? He knows about all this and is letting you walk around late at night by yourself? What a piece of shit!"

"He doesn't know any of this. He was in my dream and I told him it was something I had to do…killing Elena. You can't tell him about any of this, Care."

"Bonnie, his mother wants to turn you into a hybrid. I think he deserves to know."

"He's already dealing with so much. He's consumed with finding her and on top of that I don't think he's handling the loss of Elena all that well. He's been really distant for the past few weeks. I don't want to add to his stress."

"And what about your stress? Hmmm? What about the stress you're carrying from being terrified that one of those things is going to be faster than you one day?"

"I can take care of myself and if things get worse I'll let you know, ok?" She leaned in and kissed Caroline on the cheek. "Night, Care." She walked into her bedroom and shut the door behind her before Caroline could say anything. She flipped off the light and slid down the door until her butt hit the floor. She wrapped her arms around her legs and let tears fall silently down her face. Once again her life was being threatened. When was it going to stop? Would it ever stop? Sometimes she wondered if it would have been easier to have died on that cement floor back in 1994.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"So I'm thinking the green dress. What do you think?" Caroline turned to Bonnie and held up the dress in front of her.

"That's always been a favorite of mine so definitely."

"Good! You wear it." Caroline threw it at her and Bonnie managed to catch it before it slapped her in the face.

"It's a little too sexy for my taste….."

"That's the precise reason why you need to wear it. We'll straighten your hair and fluff it out a little and add some smoky eye. Glam you up."

"Care, this seems like a lot for a dark club that we'll be in for all of two hours."

"Look, you need this. You've been stressed out about finals which you passed with flying colors, just like I said you would. You're constantly worried about me…and Damon for some undiscernible reason. You're like a mother hen. And then on top of that you're constantly looking over your shoulder for Lily and her family. A sexy short dress and a few shots is just what the doctor ordered. Now get dressed! We're leaving in 30."

She sped out of the room and Bonnie held up the barely there dress with a look of apprehension before shrugging a small shoulder and getting up to get dressed.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"One, two, three, go!" Caroline yelled over the loud, booming beat of the music. Caroline and Bonnie threw back the shots and then slammed them down on the counter before shouting in triumph. They had lost count of the number of shots they had practically inhaled but they were feeling pretty good.

Bonnie grasped Caroline's hand and started pulling her through the crowd towards the bathroom. "Come on, I gotta pee!"

Caroline bobbed her head along to the beat and leaned on Bonnie as they walked into the bathroom. They both stumbled into their own stalls and relieved themselves. Bonnie sat on the seat and leaned back until her back touched the ice cold porcelain and she breathed in a cleansing breath as she stared at the flickering light full of dead bugs on the ceiling.

"Caroline?"

"Yeah?" Caroline stopped rolling the toilet paper in her hand and listened for Bonnie's response.

"I love you."

Caroline's face split into a wide, sloppy grin. "I love you too, honey."

Bonnie sighed heavily and stared hard at the bright light until she saw twinkling lights dancing in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I'm sorry you lost your Mom, I'm sorry you lost your dad, I'm sorry you lost your chance at 18 because you died at 17…I'm sorry that life has been so bad for you but you were still expected to keep a smile on your face and suck it up while Elena was allowed to mourn any and everything. I'm sorry I wasn't always there and I'm sorry if it seems like I'm not now. I am. You are one of the most important people in my life and I don't know what I would do without you."

Someone knocked on the door of the stall that Bonnie was in and she lowered her eyes until they rested on the door. "Come out," Caroline said. Bonnie finished up and straightened her clothing before flushing the toilet and opening the door. Caroline stared at her with eyes filled with tears. "Thank you." She pulled Bonnie in for a tight hug. Bonnie rubbed her hand up and down Caroline's back as the blond cried silently into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry too. Your life hasn't exactly been a bag of rainbows. But I'm determined to make it better. You're going to have your happily ever after, Bon."

Bonnie laughed a watery little laugh and removed herself from the hug to check her makeup which was slightly runny now. She made a sound between disgust and a laugh. "I look like a mess."

"Yeah well you're not the only one. Luckily I brought my fix-it kit." Caroline pulled a little bag off the inside of her thigh that was stuck underneath her garter. Bonnie raised a judging eyebrow. "What? I don't have pockets and I hate carrying a purse."

Bonnie laughed and shook her head as she dug her hands into her hair and fluffed it out. "You are something special, Care."

"Well, you're not wrong. Now turn around so I can make you even more beautiful than you are."

Once they were done returning themselves to their former glory, Caroline started heading for the door. Bonnie waved her on. "Go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

"Ok. I'll order more shots."

Bonnie let out a heavy sigh as the door closed behind Caroline. She had been feeling out of sorts all night. She had been hiding it quite well but the truth was she felt like something bad was going to happen. And typically she wasn't wrong about those telling gut feelings. She fluffed her hair out a little more, smoothed down the stray wisps of eyebrow hair, and swiped her finger back and forth over her teeth to make herself presentable. She smiled at her appearance and then looked down at her phone when it dinged. It was a text from Caroline. It read: _Boys are here. Hurry up!_

"You wear green quite well, Bonnie."

Bonnie eyes shot up quickly and collided with Lily's in the mirror. She turned around slowly and faced her, as Lily lingered by the bathroom door.

"What are you doing here?"

Lily took a step towards her and Bonnie shot her hand out and shook her head no. Lily nodded and stopped in her tracks. "I came to apologize."

"For what exactly? Stabbing me in the neck, or letting out my abuser, or could it be for letting that so called family of yours treat me like their next meal?"

"I am actually sorry for all of those things but I wanted to apologize for the behavior of some of the members of my family. They got slightly excited and overreacted."

"Overreacted?! One of them ripped out a guy's throat and another one of them chased me into my building after making it known that he had basically been stalking me."

"They are not bad people. They are still learning and they have not been stalking you. I have told them many things of this world and you happen to be one of them. They are intrigued by you, Bonnie."

"Good for them. Would you excuse me?" Bonnie tried to walk around Lily but she moved swiftly, cutting off her path.

"Bonnie, I would like to offer you a spot in my family. We could use your strength and your type of loyalty." Lily plastered on a sweet smile with the added plus of patient eyes. Bonnie simple laughed in her face.

"You are joking, right? I would never join you. Because of you one of my best friends is in a coma until I die. I will never see her again. You ruined so many lives and for what? Some make-shift family you barely know? Meanwhile, your sons, one of which I am extremely close to, are suffering. I don't want anything to do with you or your family. I already have one, thank you." She brushed past Lily but stopped short when Lily spoke.

"For how long?"

Bonnie looked back at her. "What?"

"How long do you think you will have that family? From what I can infer you are not the person everyone fights for. You are the one everyone sacrifices. So, exactly, how long will they be your family? Bonnie, one day all of them will finally understand that without you around they can have Elena back and that includes Damon." She approached Bonnie and Bonnie backed up until her back touched the door. Lily stopped just shy of her and brushed hair from her face. "I know you believe that you are important to him, mostly because he chose to save you over having Elena but he will regret that decision, if he doesn't already. Tell me has he started pulling away?"

Bonnie thought about how distant Damon had been for the past few weeks and lowered her eyes.

"It's obvious that he has started to doubt his decision. He chose you and now he's realizing that, that was a mistake. That must be painful…to realize that you are not important to anyone. That you have no one but Bonnie you could have us. Because one day Damon will have the option to choose between you and her again and he will not pick you the second time. He is in love with her and you are just his confidant. A confidant is not hard to find but a soul mate only comes around once in a lifetime. You are not suited to be a soul mate. You are not the one everyone fights for. Just remember this, when Caroline and Stefan become so engrossed in each other that they don't notice you, when Matt finds his place as a warrior with a badge, and when Damon turns his back on you for the olive skinned beauty, I will be here. You know how to find me." Lily kissed Bonnie on the forehead, in the same spot that Damon always placed his lips and then walked out of the bathroom.

Bonnie's shoulders shook slightly and she brushed the tears from her face as she stared at herself in the mirror. She jumped slightly when her phone beeped once again.

" _Where are you? Are you still in the bathroom? Are you getting sick? Do I need to hold your hair?"_

Bonnie didn't answer Caroline. She walked out of the bathroom and disappeared into the sea of people. She stood in the middle of the dance floor surrounded by people and practically invisible and moved her body to the music. She had gone numb to the life surrounding her and though she could hear the music, she couldn't feel it. She could feel her phone vibrating in her hand but she ignored it. She needed a minute to get back to herself before she faced her friends. She didn't want to tip them off to the possibility that something could be wrong. After a few more seconds of swaying to the bass, am arm encircled her waist and pulled her into a hard chest that belonged to a stranger. She didn't turn around…she didn't want to know his face. She leaned against him and followed the lead of his body.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"I don't know where she is." Caroline chewed at her bottom lip with a look of nervousness on her face.

"I'm sure she's fine, Caroline." Stefan wrapped his hand around her smaller one and gave it a small squeeze. "She's probably just taking her time before coming back out."

"Yeah….." Caroline's eyes scoured the dance floor yet again, anyway.

"Found her." Damon said from his perch against the bar. It was the first thing he had said since he had entered the club 10 minutes prior. His eyes traveled up the long, exposed legs of one, Bonnie Bennett and focused on the hand of the random guy, which now rested on her thigh. She grinded her backside into his pelvis and closed her eyes as she leaned her head back and rested it on mystery guy's shoulder.

"Where?" Caroline followed the direction of the finger Damon pointed with and saw Bonnie.

"Well, I guess those shots finally caught up with her." Caroline giggled and then turned around to ask the bartender for another shot for herself.

Stefan slid closer to Damon and put his hand on his brother's shoulder before squeezing slightly to get his attention. Damon grunted in response but continued to watch Bonnie and that guy. "She seems to be having a good time."

"Yep." Damon gulped down more of his bourbon.

"Guy is a little more friendly than he should be, don't you think?"

Caroline threw back her shot and answered before Damon could say anything. "Hell no! It's probably the most action Bonnie's gotten in months. She deserves it. Ooohhh maybe I'll have to stay at boardinghouse tonight and give her some privacy."

Damon turned around and placed his glass on the bar before entering the crowd to get to Bonnie.

Stefan stared at Caroline with agitation on his face.

"What?"

"You just don't get it do you?"

Caroline shook her head and swayed a little on her heels. "Get what?"

"Nothing. You wanna dance?"

"Yes!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him out to the dancefloor.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Damon stopped beside the gyrating couple and tapped the boy on his shoulder. "Do you mind?"

Bonnie opened her eyes and turned her head to look at Damon before removing the clueless boy's hands. She still hadn't looked at him and didn't care to. She slipped her hands around Damon's neck and fit her body against his.

"Hi."

"Hey. Who's your friend?"

"I don't know. I didn't actually get his name. I didn't think you would come."

"Damon Salvatore never passes up the chance to drink and dance with a beautiful woman."

Bonnie chuckled and wrapped her arms around his middle before placing her ear against his chest. He lowered his head until his nose got lost in her hair and then they began to sway effortlessly together, oblivious to the song banging over the speakers. Bonnie's eyes swept over the faces of the other dancers but stopped when she spotted Damon's eyes in a female face. Lily stared back at her with a knowing smile before turning and walking out of the club. Bonnie closed her eyes and settled into Damon.

"What's going on, Bonnie?"

"I've just been thinking."

"You seem to be doing that a lot. Something I can help with?"

She looked up at him. "No. I've just been thinking about what my life would be if I had made different choices, if I had been a little more selfish."

Damon mouth turned up in a sideways smile. "I get that. I wonder that all the time."

"You do?"

"Hey, I have deeper thoughts then where my next meal is coming from. Sometimes I wonder if I would be so volatile, so damaged if I had just made one turn to the left instead of the right but there's no point."

"Why?"

"We've already made our choices. We have to live with those and hopefully make better ones in the future. Plus all my choices weren't that bad. One of those choices led to having you in my life." He twirled her away from him and then swung her back into his arms.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck again. "Careful, I might start to think you actually care."

"We wouldn't want that." He dipped her and she let out a childish squeal.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Caroline stopped dancing and looked up at Stefan. "I think I'm starting to get it."

Stefan nodded and they both turned to look at Bonnie and Damon as they danced. "Yeah, me too."


	4. Chapter 4

Short but something to get me back in the mindset. Working on the next update for Repose also. Should be up in the next couple of days. Neither this or that one came out very smooth but getting back into it is always a little rough. Hope everyone is well and happy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, its characters, or plot.

Chapter 4

"Maybe a pea coat?"

Bonnie stopped scrolling through her phone to look up at Caroline who was sifting through multi-colored male pea coats. "For Stefan? A man who is over a hundred and has lived several different lives and you're going to get him a pea coat?"

"A pea coat is practical. It's December….."

Bonnie stepped closer and whispered. "He's dead. He will never be cold. Just get him a book or something."

"A book? I can't do that. I can't give a book to someone I've had intercourse with."

"Intercourse? Please don't say it like that!"

"I need help Bon. I need to get him something that exhibits our intimacy as friends without advancing the romantic side."

"Get him a new journal. He should start a new one with everything that's happened lately anyway."

"That's perfect!" Caroline ran out of the store in search of a journal with Bonnie trailing behind her.

Bonnie stopped following her and stepped into a store of Christmas decorations including trees and snow globes. There were bloated light bulbs strewn across the ceiling and trees dressed up in different themes including a weird Halloween theme. She made her way through the giant groups of families to the different displays.

She was looking at an assortment of pastel bulbs when she felt a hand on her elbow and lips against her ear.

"I refuse to have those colors shining on my tree."

She smiled slowly and turned around to the very beautiful model-like Damon. His hand stayed on her elbow and he leaned in until she had to lean back completely to see him.

"Who said we were having Christmas at the boarding house?"

"Caroline already spilled the beans. And no we are not bringing a real tree in my house. There will be crap all over the floor and I'm not a maid so I refuse to clean it up."

"Don't be a baby. I'll help clean it up. Just think about it we can go chop it down ourselves!" She patted him on the side to push him aside and then walked up to the wall of garland.

He followed behind her and stood close to her. "We will chop it down? You mean I'll chop it down and you'll stand there giving me directions."

"Of course. That's what makes us such a good team. By the way how did you find me?"

"Friend intuition?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Please! Are you keeping tabs on me?"

He took her by the elbow and pulled her into the corner of the store behind a massive pink tree. "I'm slightly concerned so I'm sticking close."

"Concerned about what? Nothing has happened. Your mother and her family have been quiet since the party in the woods."

"Yeah how long do you think you can keep up that lie?"

Bonnie's whole body went stiff. "I don't know what you mean and I can't keep talking in circles. I have to find Care."

She tried to walk past him but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back and leaned in to whisper in her ear so anyone passing would assume it was a couple getting very familiar with each other. "You've been distant since that night at the bar. You barely answer your phone and every time I come to see you, you're too busy to be bothered. I know something's going on and that you're keeping it from me. And I have to admit that pisses me off just a lot. I don't lie to you Bonnie and I don't keep anything from you and I assumed you would do the same."

"First off you were distant with me for weeks before the night in the bar…something that still hasn't been explained. And second, I'm handling things, Damon. I don't have to tell you everything, you know."

"There's nothing to explain. I was going through some emotional stuff that I've resolved. And you're right you don't have to tell me everything but do you tell Caroline everything? Because last time I checked I was your best friend. And what exactly are you handling?"

"Things. I'm fine, Damon. I've just been busy but I'm not hiding anything. Now about that tree….."

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"Explain to me again why we're doing this?" Caroline leaned into Stefan so Damon and Bonnie wouldn't hear.

"Bonnie's intent on it and Damon's whipped." Stefan said while grimacing. It was midnight and snow had been falling for over 3 hours now and to top it all off they were standing in the middle of the woods as Bonnie and Damon bickered back and forth over which tree to cut down. Stefan tuned in again to the pair's conversation.

"I like this one. So just chop it down."

"It's scrawny and hideous. That thing is not going up in my house."

"Oh my god! You don't even care about Christmas so why does it matter. I like it and I want it so get to chopping."

When Damon spoke it was through clenched teeth. "I care about Christmas because you do. So we are going to have the perfect tree. Don't make me explain myself Bonnie. Just accept that we are not getting that Charlie Brown tree and let's just find another one. Ok?"

Bonnie threw up her hands in exasperation. "Fine!"

They went stomping off further into the woods. Stefan and Caroline gave a collected sigh and followed behind them.

Damon pulled up in front of the boardinghouse in the 'borrowed truck' that carried the giant, fat tree. He and Stefan pulled the tree off the bed of the truck and lifted it high above their heads and carried it into the house. Caroline and Bonnie followed behind with boxes of crammed with ornaments. They all came to an abrupt stop when they came upon Enzo sitting on the couch. Damon barely took the time to acknowledge him before setting up the tree in its holder. Stefan however became stiff and his arms folded over his chest. Caroline and Bonnie sat the boxes down slowly and braced themselves for any movement.

"What are you doing here, Enzo?" Damon asked as he poured himself a drink. He looked relaxed but Bonnie knew him and she knew that if Enzo even coughed wrong, his heart would be on the other side of the room in seconds.

"Just checking on you, mate."

Damon smiled slowly and turned to face Enzo. The smile was completely predatory and if Bonnie didn't know him as a friend she probably would have ran from the room. "Well I greatly appreciate that. You know how I love a friend that cares…oh wait a minute, I hate that. I like honesty and loyalty. Two things that went out the door when you teamed up with my mother. So I'm assuming you're here to report back to her." Damon placed his drink down and walked to the couch and then leaned down so they were face to face. "And here's what you can tell her: I plan on killing her and her little family and I'm going to enjoy it." He sat back up quickly and walked back to his drink before downing the amber liquid. "Now get the fuck out of my house."

Enzo stood and straightened out his clothing but didn't budge from his spot. "So not handling the loss of your love, well, I see."

Damon whipped back around to Enzo. "You don't talk about Elena unless you want to lose your tongue." Stefan walked to stand beside his brother in solidarity.

Enzo chuckled. "The dynamic duo. Impenetrable. There was never a way I was going to be invited into the Salvatore fold, I see that now. Either way I came to warn that she's planning something. Something not too nice."

Stefan's eyes narrowed. "Why are you telling us this?"

"I believe a war should be fought by two equal opponents."

Caroline took a step towards Enzo. Stefan's eyes shifted to Caroline and then to Enzo to warn him to keep his hands to himself. "Then why don't you tell us what she's actually planning. At least give us a hint. Please Enzo."

He smiled at Caroline. "That pout doesn't work on me the way it used to blondie. And if you want a hint ask your little witch friend." With those parting words he sped from the house, slamming the door behind him.

Three heads whipped around to look at the small, caramel beauty still wrapped in her wool pea coat, wool cap and boots. She had gone pale and still. She blinked rapidly to clear the tears from her eyes and lifted her eyes from the floor to look at Damon who was staring at her with a hard unmoving face.

"Care to explain, Bon Bon."

She exhaled loudly, removed her coat and hat, and sat heavily on the couch while staring down at her intertwined fingers. "It's not what you think….."

Damon turned his head to the side and stared at her until she felt uncomfortable.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I'm just wondering when you became such a liar."

Her mouth fell open and she opened and closed it repeatedly while she tried to come up with a response. Stefan cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Damon, I think that's going a little too far."

"You think so, Stef? Hey, Bonnie, is he right? Did I go a little too far or have you really been lying to us this whole time?"

"Damon, I….."

"Don't lie to me."

"I wasn't going to lie. I just don't know how to explain myself. Let me start with the fact that I never wanted to lie, especially to you, Damon, but I-"

"Then why did you?"

"What?"

"Why did you lie to me? And don't feed me some bullshit about you not having a choice. You kept things from me, you lied to me, and I had to find out from Enzo!" By the end of the statement he was screaming at her.

A tear slipped down her face and Caroline took a step between the feuding couple. "You need to back off, Damon."

Damon took a step towards the little blonde beauty but Stefan slapped a hand on his chest to stop him. "Caroline did you know about this and not tell me?"

Caroline folded some hair behind her ear and cast her eyes down for a few seconds. "Stefan it wasn't my secret to tell."

Bonnie stood and walked around her friend. "Stefan I asked her not to say anything and to be honest she doesn't know all the details either." Caroline whipped her head around to look at Bonnie in shock. "I just want to say I'm sorry for keeping stuff from all of you. You're the closest thing I have to family and you're all I have left especially with Matt at police academy and Jeremy off doing god knows what. And because of that I just wanted to protect all of you. I thought I could handle it on my own and I was until Enzo opened his mouth."

Damon's face was still cold and hard. "What did you lie about?"

"Lily has been sending her 'family' after me. The thing in the woods was there for me, and a little while back one of them chased me into my apartment building which I told Caroline about. What I didn't tell her about and what I think all of you should know is that Lily wants me to join her."

Caroline looked betrayed and took a step closer to Stefan. "Bonnie how could you keep that from me?"

Bonnie shook her head in denial. "I thought I could handle it. I know I'm never going to be on her side and I just didn't want to put all that stress on you guys when I could handle it myself like I always do."

"Like you always do? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Care, I just meant that I'm the person that solves all the problems. I'm the fixer and I was going to fix this too. There was no point in involving you."

"Why? Because you're not only the fixer but also the savior. We get it Bonnie, you think you are the hero of the group. You didn't tell me because you didn't think I could or would help you out of this situation."

"That's not true. I just wanted to protect you."

"You always do this. You make decisions behind our backs and expect us to just fall in line. I would never have kept something like this from you. I'm your best friend and I trust you to always find a way to save me. I guess you don't feel the same way." Caroline grabbed up her bag and stormed out with Stefan following her only a few seconds later.

Bonnie closed her eyes tightly and tried to swallow around the lump in her throat. When she opened her eyes Damon was staring at her. The anger in his eyes felt heavy against her chest.

"Damon I'm sorry for not telling you. I just knew you were carrying a lot around over losing Elena and you had become so obsessed with finding your Mom. I felt like you were drowning under all that emotion and I didn't want to add this to it. You don't get how much you mean to me and I just wanted to take care of you. I feel so bad about how your life is right now and that you had to lose Elena for me and I just wanted to do something to repay you. So I kept it to myself and I was going to handle it. I was going to just get rid of her and her so-called family so it was one less thing on your shoulders. You have to understand, Damon."

"I do. I understand that the one person I thought I could trust lied straight to my face. I've let you in Bonnie. I've let you see me at my most vulnerable. I've told you things that I haven't told my own brother. I've told you secrets that Elena didn't know. I chose you over her and you threw it back in my face."

"Are you saying you made a mistake in choosing me?"

"Maybe I am. Elena, she trusted me. I can't say the same about you. You're having secret meetings with my mother and thinking about joining her….."

"That is not true! I was never thinking about it. I would never do that."

"How am I supposed to believe you? You've been lying to me for months!"

"Please just believe me, Damon. You know me. We went to hell and back together. You know my heart. I was not considering double crossing you."

"You've been dark and different since coming back. You let Kai get in your head and there have been times where you would turn cold and unrecognizable and I assumed you would talk to me when you were ready but you never did. You've kept me at arms-length and you just expect me to trust you?" He pushed his hand violently through his hair. "I've gotten through the last few months without Elena by leaning on you but for the first time having you isn't enough. I'm going to go visit my girlfriend and you can let yourself out of my house."

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"Hi, Grams. I know it's been awhile. I'm sorry about that. I'm here now because things are falling apart. I'm falling apart." Bonnie sat on the hard, frozen ground facing her grandmother's tombstone. The snow was falling slowly around her small indrawn body. She had left her phone in her car though she knew no one would be contacting her. She had lost everyone just as Lily had predicted and the only place she now felt welcomed was the cemetery that held so many of her ancestors who had, had the foolishness to devote their lives to saving people.

"I don't have anyone anymore. I'm alone and it's not like it's the first time it's happened. They've always abandoned me when I needed them the most but I thought things had changed. I thought I was important to them but they turned on me so quick. And I know I lied. I get that. That was wrong of me but I just wanted to protect them. All I do is protect them and it never seems to be enough. I'm being hunted by Lily and her family and all they could do was place blame on me because I didn't tell them about it. It makes me so angry but more than that it hurts. Elena used to do unforgivable things but she was always forgiven anyway. I'm not blaming her. I'm just…I'm just so over the utter devotion to Elena. I've never wanted to disappear so much Grams and I can't. I have to fight and save them even if they don't ask for it because let's be honest they still expect me to do it. I don't know what to do Grams and I wish more than anything that you could tell me."

She hugged her arms around her body and folded more into her body as she cried silently, completely unaware of the eyes peering from in between branches, watching her every move.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Stefan found Damon nursing what had to be at least his fifth full drink of bourbon in front of the fire. He had left Caroline at Whitmore only 30 minutes ago after she had finally calmed down. As soon as she did she instantly wanted to talk to Bonnie and apologize but no matter how many times she had called Bonnie wouldn't answer. She finally gave up and decided to go to sleep. She had told him that Bonnie wouldn't talk to her until she was ready to so she just had to wait. And now that he was done with calming her down it was time to calm down his brother.

He sat down in the chair beside his brother and poured himself a drink from the table in between their chairs.

"Where's Bonnie?"

Damon shrugged and continued to stare into the fire. He took a deep gulp of his drink. "I couldn't tell you."

Stefan nodded and turned back to the fire while sipping his own drink. "You been here the entire time I've been gone?"

Damon slouched more in his seat and watched the fire playing against the amber liquid in his glass. "Nope. Went to see Elena. Needed to clear my head."

"Did it work?"

"Not so much. It used to but it didn't seem to work this time."

Stefan nodded and gulped down more of the burning liquid. "What's going on with you and Bonnie, Damon?"

"What do you mean?" Damon finally looked at him.

"I mean that you two are clearly more than friends. The look of betrayal on your face tonight didn't belong to a friend. I've watched you two and something has shifted…changed since you came back from the prison world. I suspected something right away but when you chose Bonnie over Elena I knew there was more to the story than you were telling. So tell me Damon, did something happen between you two in 1994?"

"What exactly does this have to do with what happened tonight?"

"Nothing. But I think you need to admit the truth and I'm giving the option to right now."

Damon nodded but didn't look at his brother. When he spoke he kept constant eye contact on the fire. He spoke low…barely above a whisper. "We kissed."

"What?"

Damon turned to him then. "You wanted to know what happened in 1994…we kissed." He chuckled under his breath. "That's the first time I've said that out loud."

"When? Why?"

Damon huffed and poured himself more bourbon. "It was late one night and we were fooling around. I asked her to dance with me and we danced to Ella and at the end I felt…..settled. I kissed her. I thought she would find a match and light me up but she kissed me back. We never talked about it and it's not something I think we'll ever discuss. But now you know. That's what happened."

Stefan stared ahead as he took in what he had just heard. Damon's mouth became pinched as he watched Stefan contemplating his confession. "You're not saying anything. I usually can't get you to shut up and now you're mute….."

Stefan looked up at him with his chin in his palm and his elbow resting on his knee. "Was it a simple peck or a full blown kiss?"

Damon lowered his eyes to the floor but answered regardless. "It was a real kiss, Stef. Hand in the hair, bodies pressed tight, tongues dueling kind of kiss. And it wasn't exactly short but the next morning she acted like it had never happened so it became this unspoken thing."

Stefan nodded. "Do you have feelings for her Damon?"

"Stefan don't make this into some big thing. It was a kiss. If you remember I've done more than that with blondie."

Stefan winced and stood to leave the room. "Fine, Damon, we won't talk about it. You can just let the secret eat away at you. I don't care. I'm going to bed."

"I don't know, ok?!"

Stefan turned back to him and leaned his body against the couch. "You know if you have feelings for someone or not. You may not want to admit it but you know one way or the other. Do you have feelings for her?"

Damon turned his eyes towards the fire so he didn't have to look his brother in the eye. "I love Elena. I love her desperately."

"No one is saying you don't but that doesn't mean you aren't or can't fall for someone else at the same time. Elena definitely fell for you when she was with me and I can admit that I felt something deep for Caroline before Elena and I split. This confession, whatever it may be, will not go beyond this room. I promise you that, Damon."

Damon turned back to him and watched him with an intense stare. "You won't repeat it to anyone else." Stefan shook his head in the negative. "And you won't judge me."

"Nope. Do you have feelings for her?"

Damon took in a deep breath. "Yes I do. I don't know how deep they are or what they mean but I do feel something for her."

"Why don't you tell her?"

"You are joking, right? That's not an option. Especially after tonight. She lied to me Stef. She hid stuff from me. I can't trust her and on top of that I'm am still in love with Elena. I still want to be with her. That hasn't changed and I don't think it ever will. Telling Bonnie about my feelings won't change that."

"Your choice, Damon but if I can give some advice?" When Damon stared at him and said nothing he continued. "Bonnie did what she thought was best. She didn't screw you over for the sake of doing it and she didn't lie or betray you because she doesn't care. She saw a threat and did what she always does. She put herself in between it and the people she loves. She's been carrying this burden around for weeks and that turmoil must have been unbearable but she continued to do so, so you wouldn't have to deal with it. And yet when you found out the first thing you did was bite her head off. You owe her an apology, not the other way around. As for still being in love with Elena…I can't say much about that except for the fact that once upon a time my life wasn't worth the same as Elena's but you chose to save Bonnie instead of her. Maybe you should ask yourself why. Goodnight Damon."

He left the room before Damon could even open his mouth to say something. Damon released a huge breath, downed the rest of his drink and then slammed the glass down creating a splinter along the side. He sighed and picked up his phone. He went to his recent calls and her number sat at the top. He tapped it and waited. Her voicemail was instant. He didn't leave a message. He wouldn't know what to say if he had.

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He woke up to screaming and crying. He could hear it drifting up from downstairs and he instantly knew who the cries belonged to. The blonde succubus! He dragged his hand down his face and jumped out of bed. He didn't even bother putting on a shirt. He made his way downstairs in just pajama pants. He stopped at the entrance to the living room as Caroline incoherently spoke to a calm Stefan.

"Why the hell are you screaming in my living room at the crack of ass, blondie?!"

She stopped babbling and turned to Damon with red rimmed eyes. Stefan stepped forward and put an arm around her shoulders. "Damon…."

"What? What can be so important and dire that she has to scream like a banshee at 7 in the morning?"

Caroline looked angry for a few seconds before her face crumbled again and she turned to put her face in Stefan's chest.

Stefan swallowed hard. "Bonnie is missing. Her car was found this morning with her phone and purse still inside but Bonnie hasn't been found. The cops suggested there may have been a struggle. Someone took her, Damon."

Damon's ears went practically deaf. He couldn't hear no matter how hard he tried. He could feel though. He could feel his nonexistent heart beat trying to carve itself out of his chest. He turned from Stefan's face to the bare Christmas tree that still stood and let the words sink in with a weight big enough to crush his bones into dust. Bonnie was gone. She was gone and he hadn't been there to save her.


	5. Chapter 5

I would love to give a big long speech about this chapter but I've already taken my muscle relaxer and the sleep is catching up with me. So all I can say is happy reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own the vampire diaries, its content, or its characters.

Chapter 5

"I'm going to kill her. I'm going to rip her spine out through her mouth and then shove it down Enzo's throat!" Damon screamed. Everyone had come to the Salvatore boarding house to discuss the issue of Bonnie's disappearance. Damon had been pacing back and forth like a caged animal for half an hour while Stefan was on the phone with Abby in his bedroom.

The rest of the gang had remained quiet and unmoving for fear that Damon would attack anyone who stepped out of turn. Caroline could see his patience running thin though.

"Damon. I think we should just wait and see what Abby says before we go on a killing spree."

"Wait and see?! I don't want to wait for shit. I know they did it. They took her and for some reason all of you are willing to sit here and twiddle your god damn thumbs but I'm not."

Matt stood quickly. "You think we don't want to save Bonnie? That's all any of us want to do but we need a plan before we go charging into an unsafe environment."

"Screw you, Donovan." Damon picked up his keys and jacket and made a beeline for the front door but stopped short when Stefan stepped in front of him.

"I talked to Abby. Take a seat and let's talk."

Damon's face became tight but he followed Stefan. Stefan sat on the couch with Caroline. Everyone else: Alaric, Matt, Tyler, and Jeremy were in various seats around the room waiting intently for Stefan's news. Damon had his back to the group as he sipped his bourbon.

"Speak, Stefan." Damon said without turning to him.

"Unfortunately without having her own magic anymore Abby was unable to get a lock on Bonnie so she contacted Lucy for me. And Lucy did a locator spell…." He trailed off and Damon could feel the sweat starting to bead along his brow. He turned to the group but continued to sip his bourbon like he wasn't bothered at all. Caroline reached out a hand and put it on Stefan's knee and squeezed until he made eye contact.

"What did Lucy say?"

"She couldn't find her." Stefan's brows knitted together and his mouth dropped into a frown.

Damon nodded repeatedly but inside his head was no noise, no traffic.

Jeremy balled his hands into fists at his side and watched each face intently. "What exactly does that mean?"

Damon tossed back the rest of his drink before putting his glass gently down. "It means we go get your sister." He picked up his jacket and slipped it on and his aviators before pocketing his car keys and making his way to the front door. He turned back to the group who were all staring at him in question as to what exactly he could mean. "Bonnie's dead." He closed the door behind him and a few seconds later they heard the start and subsequent leaving of his car.

Caroline burst into tears and Matt's eyes instantly became shiny. Alaric was in total shock and Jeremy looked outraged.

Stefan stood and grabbed his keys to follow Damon but Caroline was grabbing at his sleeve before he could get anywhere. He turned to her drenched face with a look of pity.

"He's wrong, right, Stefan? She's not really dead, right?!" She was becoming hysterical.

Stefan wiped the tears from her face and placed his palms on her cheeks to hold her in place while keeping eye contact. "I don't believe so. Lucy said that even if she was…gone…the locator spell would still have found her body. She said it seems more likely that she's cloaked. Let's just go to the cemetery and see if Elena is still asleep before we jump to conclusions, ok?"

She nodded and rested her head in the middle of his chest. Tyler stepped from the corner he was in and cleared his throat. "We can take my truck. It should hold everyone."

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

When they arrived Damon was resting against the hood of his car with his arms folded and watching the entrance to the mausoleum. Stefan walked up to him and copied his stance.

"You want me to check?"

Everyone was still in the car and straining to hear the brothers because they were purposely whispering.

"Either way I'm going to be disappointed."

"Why do you say that?"

Damon turned to him fully. "What do I do if she's awake, Stef?"

Stefan shrugged. "Be appreciative that you get to have her back sooner than later?"

Damon chuckled and shook his head. "You don't get it." He folded his arms again and stared at the door with intensity.

Stefan bumped his shoulder. "Explain it to me.

"If I open that coffin and she's awake all I will be able to think is that Bonnie isn't here anymore. How do I live with that?"

Before Stefan could answer, Damon, pushed off the hood and walked into the mausoleum. The rest of the gang jumped out of the car and stood in a huddle waiting to see what would happen. A few seconds later Damon came out carrying a very tired but very awake Elena and Caroline passed out.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Caroline could hear voices coming from the kitchen but if she was being honest she was reluctant to open her eyes for fear that it had all been true. Bonnie was dead and Caroline would have to mourn her once again. Maybe if she pretended to sleep forever, she would never have to hurt or cry over the loss but once she heard Elena's voice in the mix she knew the pain would settle within her regardless. She got up, brushed her fingers through her hair, and decided to enter that kitchen like her world hadn't just been turned upside down once again. Elena was sitting on one of the stools in a heavy sweater and leggings. Her hair had recently been washed because it was still wet and she was drinking some hot drink that Caroline assumed was tea. The rest of the gang was talking to her in hushed tones to figure out how she was feeling. All except Damon she realized who was staring out of the window over the sink and taking small sips from a flask.

"Care." Caroline turned to the husky voice to see Elena trying her best to stand and get to her. Caroline immediately shortened the distance between them and hugged her friend…a friend she thought she wouldn't be seeing for at least 70 years. The thought of it made Caroline's eyes swell with tears. When she sniffed Elena squeezed her harder. "It's ok. I'm back." And once again Caroline realized how this gang worked. Elena was the one everyone mourned and nothing had changed. Well not this time! This time she was going to devote her time and energy to one, Bonnie Bennett. This time she was going to find a way to save her because she deserved it.

She pulled back and helped Elena sit back down before turning to the rest of the gang. "Where are we on finding Bonnie?"

Everyone looked confused for a second before realization hit. "We don't know how to find her body but I can alert other town officials to be on the lookout," Matt said with a solemn face and a broken voice.

Caroline sat beside Elena who was watching everything intently. "We don't know for sure that she's dead. Right, Stefan?"

He nodded but refused to confirm. He knew the likelihood was high.

Ric knew it was a sore spot but he felt it was his duty to be honest with all of them. They still felt like his students. "Kai said there was absolutely no loophole and that if one was attempted that both girls would die. If Elena is awake…we are looking for a body whether we want to admit it or not."

Jeremy put his head down and the hurt was evident. "I think Ric may be right. Let's get you settled in and then we can start looking for Bonnie." He said as he grabbed Elena's hand.

Elena shook her head. "No. Why don't you all go now and I'll rest and gather my strength while you're gone. I'll be fine."

"You just woke up, Elena. We don't want to leave you and something happen as a result of that spell." Stefan said and everyone but Damon and Caroline agreed.

Caroline didn't say anything. She just picked at the top of the island as she tried not to cry over the loss of her friend once again.

Damon simply continued to stare out of the window but he spoke up for the first time since they entered the kitchen. His back remained to the group the whole time.

"This is why she didn't tell any of us that she was being hunted by my mother." Everyone in the room went quiet and turned to him as he spoke. "She knew that because her name wasn't Elena Gilbert, no one would drop everything for her and risk their lives to save hers. We have no proof that she's dead and all of you have accepted it and moved on because you have to take care of Elena. Bonnie, be damned. She didn't trust us to save her and I realize now that she had no reason to." He pocketed the flask and started walking out of the kitchen but stopped short before turning back to them. "Maybe she is dead. Maybe I'll never get to tell her how much she meant or how important she was but I tell you this, I'm not going to stop until I find her body and bury her. She deserves that. She deserves for us to drop everything for her, for once. All of you can stay here and dote over Elena. Blondie, since you seem to be the only one not drinking the kool-aid, you're with me. Let's go."

Caroline didn't even think about it. She hopped off her seat, grabbed her things, and followed Damon out.

Everyone stared at the empty space after they left with a look of shock on their faces.

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"You want me to stay here? I can help."

"I'm sure you can but I don't know what I'll do once I face my mother and I'd rather not hurt you and have to bury two people from the gang today. If I need anything you'll be the first to know." Damon got out and closed the car door behind him before Caroline could respond. She knew he was looking out for her life because of his loyalty to Bonnie and she appreciated it regardless.

Damon let his fist fall heavily against the door two hard times and then heard the click of heels as his mother approached. He still remembered her walk and it made the space in the middle of his chest ache. She opened the door and took a quick step back in surprise.

"Damon, dear, what are you doing here?"

His face instantly became hard at the term of endearment that she used to call him as a child. "Cut the shit, Lily. You know why I'm here. Give me her body now and I promise I'll make your death painless."

Lily's brows became knotted. "Who's body, exactly?"

He chuckled and his hand fisted until it hurt. "Where is Bonnie?"

She shook her head in confusion. "I'm sorry son, I honestly have no idea what you mean."

Damon felt the anger rising in his blood and holding himself back any longer was become increasingly harder. He slammed his fist against the side of the door, making Lily yelp in surprise. He gripped the edges of the door frame and leaned in so their noses were practically touching. "I'm not your son, you pitiful bitch. I want Bonnie and if you don't give her to me, I'm going to set this house on fire with you in it."

Lily looked slightly scared and he realized her little heretic friends must not be in the house if she was this nervous. "Damon, I swear I don't have her. Yes, I admit I did approach her several times about joining my family and again I will admit that I sent Enzo to you to create tension in your group but other than that I have done nothing. I didn't even know she was missing. Why do you assume she's dead and why do you assume I did it? You have several enemies."

"I know you. I know you did it. And I know she's dead because Elena's awake."

Her face became soft and she reached out a hand to caress his cheek but quickly yanked it back when he looked at the offending appendage. "I am very sorry. I can see how much pain that is causing you. Did you love her, Damon?"

"If you don't give her body to me right now I will call in every favor I have from every witch I know and I will make that prison world look like a paradise to your little family, do you understand me?"

"I don't have her, Damon and you will watch your tongue with me. I am still your mother. You don't have the right to threaten me."

He nodded and his smile was cold and calculated. "Oh, mother, you have underestimated how little you mean to me and how much Bonnie Bennett actually means to me. I already called in a little favor and made it so you are a prisoner in your own home. You can't leave and your little heretics can't break the spell." He reached in his pocket and brought out a lighter before flicking it open. The flame was bright and high. "I've already taken the privilege of dousing your house in gasoline so let's try this one more time…where's Bonnie?"

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The gang was sitting in the living room waiting from any word from Damon. They had been sitting in silence since he and Caroline left, expecting the worse but hoping for the best.

 _Ring. Ring._

Stefan pulled his phone out of his pocket. "It's Damon." He answered it and put it on speakerphone. "Hey. What happened?"

"I had a little talk with Mommy Dearest." Everyone scooted a little closer to the phone to hear.

"And?"

"And I used some persuasion and I know where Bonnie is…roughly."

Elena spoke up. "Roughly? What does that mean?"

"It means I know she's in the woods and it means that Lily is coming with us to show us exactly where. I'll text you the directions."

He hung up before anyone could say anything. They all grabbed coats and shoes and headed out. When they showed up Damon and Caroline were sitting on the hood of his car waiting as Lily sat in the back seat looking slightly disheveled. Once everyone exited Tyler's giant SUV, Damon reached in and grabbed Lily by the arm and dragged her out of the car.

"Ok, Lily, lead the way." When she automatically started walking, Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Lucy is working a little magic and so mother, here, is basically powerless currently and scared of what I'll do if she doesn't give me what I want." He tightened his hand on her arm until she let out a short small scream. "And she should be. Walk faster."

The gang exchanged looks of concern but followed anyway. They wanted Bonnie's body by any means but they could admit they were slightly scared of what they would find. Several feet from their destination each supernatural started to feel slightly uneasy. They could feel huge amounts of magic radiating from somewhere and it stung their veins slightly but they kept trudging along. They stepped through a thick grouping of trees into a clearing and stopped short at what they saw.

Bonnie was suspended in air. She appeared to be floating. She appeared to be enclosed in an opaque casing that lit up with what appeared to be silver lines that resembled lightning. Her skin was bronze and her hair pitch black and she was completely nude.

Damon stared in shock. "She's breathing."

Lily nodded. "I never said she was dead."

"Then how….." Damon trailed off and looked at Elena.

Stefan stepped forward so he could look at his mother. "What happened exactly?"

Lily took a deep breath. "We took her."

"Who?" Elena asked.

"Enzo and I and my family of course. We found her in the cemetery after the fight where all of you turned on her, just as we expected and my family subdued her."

"You mean you knocked her out?" Caroline snapped.

Lily merely nodded. "Enzo picked her up and we set off into the woods to take her back to our home where we could convince her to join us. She awoke halfway there…probably from her magic trying to protect her. She attacked us and things got out of hand."

"What does that mean, mother?" Stefan asked.

"Enzo felt threatened and decided to speed up the process. He feed her his blood and I told him not to hurt her. He backed off but she…well she hurt one of my family members by the name of William and her neck was unfortunately broken."

Caroline gasped and grasped Elena's hand, who looked equally hurt.

"We thought it would start the process of her becoming a vampire. Granted she wouldn't be a heretic. We would have had to perform a ritual we had found and we hadn't been able too. Regardless she would have been a great vampire so we were fine with it. However, instead this bright light overtook her body and the next thing we knew she was nude and in this clear coffin. We can't remove her from it. She's been here the entire time." As soon as the last word left her mouth she dropped to the ground.

Stefan looked shocked. "Damon!"

Damon shrugged his shoulder and didn't look guilty about snapping her neck at all. "I was done with the story. The point I got from it is that Bonnie's alive and we need to get her home."

Elena stepped forward and touched his arm…he flinched slightly but she didn't appear to notice. "How? Your mother said there's no way to get her out of that thing."

"First off my mother is an idiot. Second, I'm not leaving these woods without her." He stepped away from a slightly confused Elena who let her hand rest in mid-air before letting it fall to her side.

He approached the coffin slowly, scared that the silver light flowing through it would wound him. When he was within whispering distance and nothing had happened he relaxed. She hovered just above the middle of his chest so he was able to lean down and speak to her. He spoke slowly and quietly as to not shock her or her cocoon but everyone was close enough to still hear him.

"Hey Bon Bon." His face was soft and his heart hurt to know that she had, had to go through this alone. He knew the fear she must have felt right before the snap of bone in her neck. "I can honestly say I have no idea what the hell is going on right now…vampires don't usually go through a butterfly metamorphosis. The point is, we need to get you home so we can figure out what's going on. We need to get you home so you'll wake up and I can stop freaking out. I also have a few things I need to apologize for so if you could just lower this case thingy I'll take you home to your own bed where nothing and no one will ever get to you again. I need you to trust me Bon and remove the coffin…please."

He reached out a hand tentatively. "Damon, don't!" Elena snapped at him but as his hand made contact with the bubble it slipped right into it and within seconds it was non-existent. He caught her as her body dropped from the coffin.

He cradled her close and turned to the group. "Care, run up to the car and grab that blanket from the trunk." She was gone and back within seconds. She helped him wrap the blanket around the nude witch.

"I can take her. I'm strong enough."

Damon just shook his head at Caroline and kept Bonnie close. "Let's just get her home."

Stefan walked alongside him. "I'll call Abby and Lucy from the car."

"We'll call them when we get home. I need you to drive my car back." Stefan just nodded.

Elena's face scrunched up slightly. "What are you going to do?"

"Sit in the back with Bonnie of course."

"I can sit with her."

"It's fine. I don't mind." Elena went silent but her mind was racing.

Stefan drove and Elena sat in the passenger seat watching the two in the back without trying to attract attention. Bonnie's head was resting in Damon's lap and he was brushing his fingers through the strands as he whispered to her.

"I'm sorry, Bon. I'm so sorry. I screwed up and once again it fell on you. I never wanted this to happen and if I hadn't been such an idiot…if I had just let you explain…you would be ok right now. Though I will say, I can't believe you went into the woods by yourself. We'll be having a little talk about that when you wake up."

Elena's mind was racing while trying to figure out how he had let Bonnie down. She would have to ask Caroline about it later once everything calmed down slightly.

They parked and Stefan jogged up to the door so Damon could walk through still carry a bundled Bonnie. "I'll be back. I'm going to lie her down."

Damon disappeared upstairs and everyone else besides Caroline and Elena went into the kitchen to grab something to eat and to call Bonnie's mother. Before Caroline could enter the kitchen Elena grabbed her hand and pulled her to the couch.

"Are you ok?" Care asked.

"I'm fine. I feel fine actually which is a little weird. Perfectly human. Care….."

Caroline folded some hair behind her ear. "Yes?"

"What happened between Damon and Bonnie?"

"What do you mean?"

Elena bit at her bottom lip and looked around to make sure no one was coming. "I heard him in the car apologizing for being an idiot and for not letting her explain. And then his mother basically said that what happened between you guys is why she was in the cemetery to begin with. I was just curious as to what happened….."

"Well it came out that Bonnie had been keeping her interactions with Lily secret. Enzo and Lily clearly did it on purpose to get Bonnie but we weren't thinking and we said some bad things that we shouldn't have said. Or at least I did…I don't really know what Damon said to her."

"What do you mean?"

"I stormed out and Damon and Bonnie stayed to talk. I don't know what was said but it made her go to that cemetery alone so it must have been really bad. I just wish we had listened to her and she wouldn't be going through whatever she's going through right now." Caroline's eyes became shiny before she took a deep breath to calm herself.

Elena wrapped her arm around Caroline's shoulders and squeezed. "She'll be ok. We'll make sure she is."

Caroline nodded while her head rested on Elena's shoulder and hugged her back.

"Everything ok?"

Both girls looked up to see Damon standing in the doorway, watching them. Elena nodded at him with a sweet smile. "We're fine. Just talking about Bonnie."

He nodded, stuck his hands in his pockets, and looked at the fire going on in the fireplace. Caroline could see that he was having inner turmoil over Bonnie's situation and that Elena would want to console him. She knew that it wasn't important right at this moment but she was curious what would happen between the couple once Bonnie awoke. She bit her lip a little as she thought about it.

She patted Elena's back and kissed her cheek. "I'll give you two a minute and see what Stefan has found out from Abby and Lucy."

Once she was out of the room, Elena turned to watch Damon. He had now made his way to the fireplace and was watching the flames intensely.

"What are you thinking about?"

He jerked his head to the right to look at her like he just remembered she was in the room. He stared at her for a few seconds before turning back to the fire. "A lot. Too much." He brushed his hand through his hair before turning back to her and crossing his arms. "I haven't asked with everything that's been going on…how are you? How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine. I thought I would feel out of it or sick at least but I just feel…alive." She smiled And Damon tried to muster a smile in return but it just looked painful. She stood and walked to him. She pulled his arms down and intertwined their fingers. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Just tired."

"I can see that. And maybe a little worried? Worried about Bonnie?"

He pulled his hands from hers and turned back to the fire. "I did this. I'm not worried…I'm guilty."

She walked up behind him and put her arms around him while lying her cheek against his back. "Why are you feeling guilty? Your mother did this."

"I did this. I didn't believe her when I had no reason not to and it made her irrational and she did something stupid, like going to a graveyard by herself in the middle of the night, and got herself attacked. If I had trusted her half as much as she trusts me none of this would have happened."

She nodded against his back. "What did you say to her to make her go to that graveyard by herself, by the way?"

He took a deep breath and let it out in a choppy manner. "I told her in no uncertain terms that I should have chosen you over her and saying it may have been the biggest mistake I've ever made cause I just might lose her. I don't know what I'll do if that happens….."

Elena felt like the air was being sucked out of her lungs but before she could respond Stefan cleared his throat. Elena pulled away from Damon and they both turned to Stefan who was waiting patiently.

"Well…what did they say?"

Stefan looked confused for a second before his face cleared and became relaxed. "The whole thing was a little confusing but the gist seemed to be that Bonnie's magic took the vampire blood and is turning it into something else."

Damon approached Stefan. "Something else? What the hell does that mean?"

"Abbie said she's heard of powerful witches who have been turned or attempted to be turned into other supernatural creatures and their magic has instead turned them into another type of witch. Some ancient type that doesn't exist anymore…supposedly very powerful. Lucy said that she assumes the cocoon was only to protect Bonnie from any further harm until she was in a safe place or with someone safe. I guess once her subconscious heard your voice it knew she would be safe so it let you take her."

Damon nodded. "Ok. I'll accept that theory for now. How long until she wakes up?"

Stefan shook his head. "I don't know."

"Stef I need to know when she's going to wake up. A ballpark…an assumption…something. I need to hear her voice. So….."

"They said it's up to the magic how long she's asleep and that it's likely that she won't wake until the transformation is complete."

"But she will wake up?"

Stefan's eyes instantly fell to the floor. Damon looked pass him to the rest of the gang who was fidgeting and looking slightly detached. "She is going to wake up right, Stefan?"

"They honestly don't know."

Damon turned on his heel to leave the room. "I need to go for a drive."

He left before anyone could say anything. Elena watched him leave with a hollow feeling in her chest. She had a lot of questions about her time away but the biggest was 'what was going on with Bonnie and Damon?'

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Everyone had gone up to bed a little bit after Damon stormed out of the house but Elena had stayed downstairs staring into the fire, trying to figure out what was going on and how she was feeling. After a solid hour she gave up and went upstairs in search of Caroline. She knocked on her friend's bedroom door and a mere three seconds later the door was opened by the slightly disoriented blonde pixie.

"Elena? Are you ok? Is Bonnie ok?" Her eyes became large and she looked panicked.

"I'm fine and so is Bonnie. Do you mind if I come in?"

"No of course not." She stepped back to let her in and closed the door behind her. Elena paced back and forth a few times and Care watched from beside the closed door before finally taking a seat on the bed to wait her out. Eventually Elena stopped and whipped around to Caroline.

"I have a very important question to ask you and I need you to be honest with me, ok?"

"Of course." Caroline said while nodding.

"Are Bonnie and Damon sleeping together?"

"What?! Like having sex?"

"Yes, Care! Like having sex. Are they having sex?"

"No! Damon and Bonnie would never do that to you!"

"You're sure?"

"I am positive."

Elena nodded repeatedly but Caroline could tell she had more to say. "That's good. That makes me feel a little better. One more question…do they have feelings for each other?"

Caroline eyes darted away from Elena. "Not as far as I know."

"You're lying. You won't even look at me."

"Look, Lena, neither one has said anything to me about having feelings for the other. I can only go on what I've seen."

Elena sat on the bed across from Caroline. "And what have you seen?"

"I think they care for each other a lot and that they're best friends and that they wouldn't know how to make it for very long without the other. That's all I know. Now why don't you go to bed?" She squeezed Elena's hand. "Why don't you go lie down and get some sleep? Waking up out of a coma must be tiring…plus I'm sure cuddling with Damon will help a lot."

"You're probably right." Elena walked to the door and opened it but before leaving the room she stopped and turned back to Caroline.

"I'm being crazy aren't I? Damon loves me.

"He does."

"I have nothing to worry about." Caroline merely smiled at her but didn't respond. Elena closed the door behind her and Care lowered her head with a grim expression. She thought Elena had a lot to worry about.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

When Elena got to the closed bedroom door of Damon's bedroom she readjusted her breasts and ran her hand through her hair a few times but stopped when she heard moving coming from inside. Damon must have come home while she was talking to Caroline. She decided to try and sneak up on him like she had done when she was still a vampire. She turned the knob slowly, as to not make a sound, but stopped when there was a barely a crack to see through when she saw Bonnie in one of Damon's gray shirts lying on a pile of pillows and with comfy blankets tucked in around her as she slept. What was Bonnie doing in Damon's bed? Then she remembered that he was the one that chose which room she would go into and she felt jealousy rising like bile in her throat.

She looked back up and through the crack when she had the bed groan from added weight and saw Damon climb in beside Bonnie. He readjusted the pillows behind his head and began to talk to Bonnie as if she was awake.

"I went for a drive. Sorry I left you all alone but I needed a minute away from all the crap of today. Stefan talked to Abby and Lucy and there's a small chance that you may never wake up. Frankly the idea isn't very appealing. In case they're right though I have to apologize now and hope you can hear me. I'm sorry Bon Bon. I failed you." He turned slightly so he could see Bonnie's face and he reached down to interlock their hands. "All you wanted was for someone to be as loyal to you as you are to everyone and I couldn't even do that. I would give anything to go back and listen to your side of the story. I would give anything to have just shut my mouth and trusted your plan and your wisdom. But more than anything I wish I could go back and tell you that I don't regret choosing you over Elena. I have never regretted that and I never will. If I could go back to that moment I would choose you every time. I need you in my life Bon. You're my anchor and not having you here even for a few hours makes me feel like I'm drowning. Just please come back to me." He leaned over and kissed her forehead. He kept his lips pressed to her forehead as he said, "Please."

He leaned back and reached over to turn off the light before settling down to sleep. Elena pressed her hand to her mouth to keep the sounds of pain silent. She closed the door softly and with one hand over her mouth and one hand pressed to her chest, she walked to an empty bedroom, while contemplating her place in Damon Salvatore's life.


	6. Chapter 6

Good Lord coming up with powers for an ancient witch is hard work, which is probably why you guys only get a glimpse of her powers at the end of this chapter. It is a work in progress that's liquefying my brains. Any suggestions would be helpful. This is definitely more of a filler but they move the plot along so they are needed. Also I have no idea how good or bad this is because I'm practically in a coma as we speak. Lol! So don't be too harsh with me.

Disclaimer: I don't own the vampire diaries, its characters, or its concept.

Chapter 6

"Maybe we should move her to her own bed….."

Elena stopped just short of turning the corner into the kitchen to listen to the conversation between Stefan and Damon. It was still early and she had assumed that everyone would still be asleep though she hadn't gotten a wink knowing that Damon was down the hall in bed with her best friend. But obviously the brothers had been up for some time and discussing the Bonnie issue.

"Why would we do that?"

"Damon," Stefan exhaled loudly, "I don't know if you noticed or not but your girlfriend isn't in a coma anymore."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that, Sherlock. What's your point?"

"Where did you sleep last night?"

Elena crept closer to the entrance of the kitchen and peeked around to catch a glimpse of the brothers. Stefan sat at the island, dressed in dark wash jeans and a gray button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, while nursing a cup of coffee. Damon stood across from him, leaning his body against the sink in all black, and holding his own mug of coffee though she suspected his contained something harder mixed within the coffee.

Damon shrugged his shoulders and took a sip from his mug. "My bedroom…where else would I sleep?"

"In the bed?"

"No, in the tub…yes, Stefan, in the bed. Get to your point please."

Stefan placed his mug on the island softly and laced his fingers together before placing his chin on them, and locking eyes with Damon. "You slept in the bed with Bonnie last night and your girlfriend slept where exactly? You don't know and that's a problem. I don't think she's going to handle knowing she had to give up her side of the bed to her best friend, very well."

"Her best friend who is in a magically induced coma from having her neck snapped after being force fed vampire blood? Her best friend who is turning into some other worldly thing none of us have ever heard of? Her best friend who may never wake up? I would hope that Elena isn't so self-involved that she wouldn't understand why I chose to sleep with Bonnie last night."

"Maybe she's not but let's say that I am. Why did you choose to sleep with Bonnie last night?"

Damon turned his back on his brother and started adding more coffee and whiskey to his mug. "I didn't want her to wake up alone or to be alone in general. She shouldn't have to go through this without someone there to hold her hand." He turned back to Stefan while taking a healthy sip of whiskey soaked coffee.

"Is that the only reason?"

Damon's eyebrow hiked up and he stopped the cup just mere centimeters from his lips before lowering it and sitting it atop the island. He crossed his arms and gave Stefan a hard look. "And what other reason would there be? She's my best friend; I care if she survives this, Stef."

Stefan nodded enthusiastically. "I'm sure you do. But frankly I think your other feelings may be clouding your thoughts….."

Elena's face became hot and she felt like she was having to remind her lungs to breathe. She listened intently for Damon's reaction but before he could open his mouth, Caroline's voice came screaming down the stairs.

"Guys! Get up here! It's Bonnie!"

Elena felt a strong breeze whip past her as the brothers ran from the kitchen, up to Damon's bedroom. She ran up behind them, thankful that they had been too preoccupied to notice her eavesdropping.

She made it up the steps and to his bedroom only a few seconds after the boys. Stefan had his arm wrapped around Caroline's shoulders and Damon was standing just inside the entrance to the room. Elena pushed past him to see what everyone was looking at. Bonnie was lying on the bed and shaking slightly, a bright light was coming from her chest, her skin was glistening from the sweat and her back was bowed to the point of her forehead touching the mattress beneath her. Her mouth hung open though her eyes remained closed and she appeared to be in pain.

"What's wrong with her?"

Damon shook his head and looked helpless. Caroline stepped away from Stefan and approached Bonnie.

"She's going to hurt herself if we don't straighten her out." She touched a tentative hand to Bonnie's arm and jerked her hand back fast. She turned back to the group while nursing her injured, but quickly healing, fingers. "She's burning up…it took the skin off my fingers."

The words had barely left her mouth before they heard a sharp scream from the bed and everyone turned to look at Bonnie. She was tossing and turning and screaming but within seconds the movements ceased as did the screaming and she went stock still. Everyone was frozen in their places as they watched her intently. All of a sudden Bonnie's eyes snapped opened and she took in a deep intake of air before looking around confused. Her eyes took in every face with a wrinkled brow. Her skin still had a slight glow to it almost giving it a gold undertone and her hair was now pitch black and in long waves. Her eyes were greener than they had ever been but the pupil was black as night. She was beautiful but unsettling as she made eye contact with each individual.

She licked her dry lips and opened her mouth barely an inch to speak. "Hot…." She whispered and then swallowed hard.

Damon came out of his trance then and walked briskly to her. He laid the back of his hand against her forehead and hissed through the pain before turning his hand to look at the slightly burnt pink and raw skin.

"Elena?"

She practically ran to Damon's side. "Yes?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course."

"Turn my tub on. More cold water than warm, please." She looked at him confused before she realized that it was for Bonnie. Her mouth became tight from frustration but she reasoned that Bonnie was her friend too and she wanted her to be ok so she nodded and went to do what Damon told her. "Caroline can you get her some new clothes from her bedroom?"

"Yep." Care sped from the room. She was back in a flash. She laid the clothes on the end of the bed and stepped back to stand beside Stefan. Elena turned the handles onto the off position on the tub once it reached a good level and came back in the room to stand on the other side of Stefan.

Damon sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed the hair back from Bonnie's brow, careful to not touch her skin. He waited until her eyes focused completely and she looked at him. They stared at each other for several seconds, sizing each other up, before Damon spoke.

"Do you know who you are?"

Bonnie looked confused by his question. Her voice was raw and rough when she spoke. "Yes."

"What's your name?"

She swallowed thickly. "Bonnie Bennett."

He turned with a smile to the group and they all returned the smile even if one was a little tight. He barely noticed before turning back to Bonnie. "Good girl. A slightly harder question and one I'm hoping you get right. Who am I?"

Her brow creased and he was sure she didn't have an answer for him and that fear was something he couldn't describe. "Why are you asking me that?"

He had to strain to make out what she said but thankfully his supernatural hearing helped. "Bon, I need you to humor me. Who am I?"

"You're Damon."

His smile was crooked and full. "Yeah, yeah I am. Do you know everyone else in the room?"

He moved to the side so she could see around him. She nodded as best as she could though her eyes got large when she spotted Elena. "How?" She croaked out.

Everyone shared a worried look when they realized that Bonnie may not have remembered her untimely death.

Damon gave her a sweet smile. "How about we discuss that later, hmmm? You need to cool down some. You're too hot."

Bonnie shook her head. "No. I want to know now." Her voice was as stern as she could manage.

"You got hurt. Hurt badly and I wasn't there to protect you but I am now. And that's what I'm trying to do…protect you, so I need you to trust me when I say that we have to get you into that bath before you get hotter. Ok?"

"Ok….."

He nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. He stood from the bed. "I'm going to pick you up."

She nodded. He slipped his arms under her legs and his skin instantly began to burn but it wasn't as bad as before which meant that her temperature hadn't increased. He hissed before slipping his other arm under her shoulders and lifting her from the bed and walking pass the group of curious faces into the bathroom and shutting it behind him.

Stefan grabbed Caroline's hand. "We should wait downstairs until she's done."

"Ok." Caroline turned to Elena. "Lena, you coming?"

Elena was still staring at the bathroom door with a dumbfounded look. "No, I think I'll wait for Damon."

Stefan and Caroline shared a look before saying ok and leaving the room. Elena closed the bedroom door behind them and sat on the bed to wait for Damon.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Damon closed the bathroom door behind him with a kick of his boot. He walked to his sink and sat Bonnie down on it. She teetered slightly but he kept her upright. When she looked up at him in confusion, he merely pointed at the mirror behind her. She placed her palm on the cool marble to steady herself and turned enough to see her reflection; she gasped when she finally saw herself. She turned back to Damon with a whip of her head and questions in her eyes. He just shook his head no and passed her a glass of water which she promptly downed in one gulp.

He smiled. "Better?"

"Much. Still hot…."

"Ok. Can you stand?"

She rested one of her feet on the floor and when it didn't give out she tried the other but her knees buckled instantly. He caught her and kept her on her feet with his assistance. She gripped his shoulders and shook slightly from the exertion of standing.

"I think you're going to need some help getting in that tub, especially if you plan on doing it sans clothing. I'm going to go get Elena or Caroline ok?"

She shook her head. "No…why can't you just help me?"

His eyes got large. "Because you would be naked….."

"I don't want anyone seeing me like this but you. Please, Damon….."

He exhaled loudly. "Ok but remember, when your brain isn't so foggy, that you asked me to do this."

He lifted her back up and sat her on the sink. He bent down and looked under the sink until he found a large hair clip and then he wound Bonnie's hair around before securing it to the back of her head with the clip. He reached for the hem of his shirt and took a deep breath. "Ok…let's get awkward."

Bonnie bit her lip and nodded. He lifted the shirt slowly so she wouldn't have to move too fast to keep up with him. He kept eye contact the whole time. Once the shirt made it over her head and onto the floor she leaned against the mirror behind her, appreciating the cold, and covered her breasts. "Can you lift me again and put me in the tub?"

"What about your…ummmm…." He waved his hand to indicate her underwear.

"I'll take them off in the tub."

He nodded and lifted her before carefully putting her in the bath. With a little difficulty she managed to get her underwear off while staying upright. Damon heard the wet plop as they hit the bathroom floor, since his back was to her the whole time she was fighting to get the offending garment off.

He kept his back to her as he talked. "That should bring down your temp a little. I'll send in Caroline to help you get dressed in about 20 minutes, ok?"

"Ok. And then answers?"

He smiled slowly. "Yes, ma'am, then answers." He walked to the door and turned the knob but didn't open it yet. "Don't fall asleep in there."

Bonnie chuckled. "Not likely."

He closed the door softly behind him and leaned his head against it while letting out a long, cleansing breath. Relieve flooded his body.

"How is she doing?"

His lids lifted lazily to find Elena sitting on the bed watching him. "She seems like Bonnie."

"Is that a bad thing?"

He shook his head and came to sit on the bed beside her. He leaned back against the headboard with a heaviness that only came from exhaustion. Elena watched him intently. "It's a shocking thing."

She placed her hand on his knee and squeezed. "Why?"

"She's supposed to be some witch creature that hasn't seen the light of day in centuries. I assumed that would mean a different personality and yet she's just Bonnie. I'm just wondering if Abbie and Lucy were wrong."

"You're worried she might just be a vampire?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes tightly for a couple of seconds before looking at Elena again. "She won't complete the transition if she is. I know that. Bonnie would rather die young than take someone else's life and I don't want to lose her again."

Elena nodded and looked down at her hands that were now interlocked. "You and Bonnie are really close now, hmmm?"

"She's my best friend. I honestly don't remember what it was like before she was."

She smiled tightly. "I never thought you two would ever be like this….."

"I don't think anyone did but Bonnie, she gets me. She understands all the mess swimming around in my head and she never judges me for it. She sees the human still in there and she always knows how to reach him no matter how far gone I am. Thinking that I would never see her again made me kind of homicidal…something I haven't been for a while."

Elena's mind started racing. She used to be the one who could reach Damon no matter how dark he could get and now Bonnie was doing it. What else was Bonnie providing him? Love?

"Damon?"

"Hmmm?"

"Are we ok?"

"What do you mean?"

Her fingers tightened around each other. "It's just since I've been back, I've felt like we're not the same. I know I shouldn't have to ask…but you do still love me, right?"

Damon look confused for a second. "Of course I do. I've always loved you. You have nothing to worry about."

She nodded slowly. "Ok….."

Someone knocked on the door. "Come in." Damon said.

Caroline opened the door and popped her head in. "Is she ok?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She's still in the bathtub though. Do you mind helping her out and getting her dressed. We'll be downstairs."

"Yeah, of course." Caroline grabbed Bonnie's clothes and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

"Do you want me to comb your hair?"

"Please." Bonnie sat on Damon's bed in a long sleeved overly sized white v-neck and stripped gray leggings, with soft fluffy white socks. Caroline kneeled behind her and began pulling the comb gently through the strands.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good. I'm not as hot anymore."

Caroline smiled sweetly and continued combing her hair.

"Caroline?"

"Yes, honey."

"Did I die?"

Caroline stopped combing all together and felt a tear slip down her right cheek. She bent down and kissed the crown of Bonnie's head. "Let's go downstairs and we'll talk."

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Caroline had an arm wrapped around Bonnie's middle as she helped her walk down the stairs and then into the kitchen where Stefan, Elena, and Damon were already waiting. Bonnie carefully sat on the bar stool with a wince. Her body was still sore.

"Would you like some tea, Bonnie?"

Bonnie smiled up at Stefan. "Yes, please."

He turned to the canisters on the counter. "Orange zest, honey, pomegranate, mint…."

"Do we have any blackberry sage left?"

Stefan looked at the canisters but didn't see that one in particular. "I don't see that one….."

Damon opened a cabinet beside Stefan's head and reached behind several items and pulled a small box of tea out. He handed it to Stefan who just raised an eyebrow at the fact that Damon had hid tea just for Bonnie.

He made her tea and put the steaming mug in front of Bonnie and then leaned against the sink beside Elena. Caroline sat on the counter on the other side of Stefan. Damon squeezed Elena's hand and when she turned to him, he gave her a quick peck on the lips but before she could react he let go and walked around the island to sit on the bar stool beside Bonnie. Her right hand was holding the tea cup as she drink and her left hand was resting on the coolness of the marble. Damon slipped his hand into hers and intertwined their hands. She put her cup down softly and turned to him slightly and in turn he turned into her completely. Their seats were close together and their knees were touching. He pulled her hand from the island, keeping them intertwined, so he could get closer. He took his free hand and folded her hair behind her ear and swept his thumb down her cheek.

"Are you ready to talk?"

"Yes."

"Ok….." He lowered his eyes to the floor and took in shallow breaths. He stared at the floor for a full minute. He didn't know how to tell her. He didn't want her to blame him and walk out of his life for good. He could admit…he was scared. Scared of losing her and scared of her freaking out from the truth. He was also scared that if it turned out that she was in a slow grade transition, that she wouldn't complete it and he would have to lose her forever.

"Damon."

He looked to his left at Stefan with a questioning look.

"She's waiting." His brother was telling with his eyes just to be honest with her and he was going to trust him and do that.

He nodded and licked his lips before tightening his hold on Bonnie's hand and looking her in the eye.

"Do you remember the fight we got in? The fight about Lily?"

Bonnie's eyes darted back and forth as she tried to remember. She nodded slowly. "Yes. Um…we went to cut down a tree for Christmas and when we got back Enzo was here."

"Yeah, right. And you and I fought. You remember that?"

"Yes, I remember. You told me that you regretted saving me. You said you should have picked Elena instead." Her eyes were shiny with tears but she never broke the eye contact even when she heard Caroline gasp from the truth.

He hung his head in shame but nodded regardless. "I did but you need to know that I didn't mean that, which is something we'll discuss later. After the fight you left and when I tried to call you later it went straight to voicemail. It wasn't until the next morning that your car was found and we were told you were missing. I assumed my mother had something to do with it so I went to go see her."

"And?"

"And she did. It didn't take long for her to crack and she took us to you."

"Took you to me?" Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

He took both of her hands and squeezed slightly. "When you left, after our fight, you went to the graveyard and while you were there Lily and Enzo took you. They wanted to convince you to join them but things got out of hand and you….you…..uh….."

"I died…"

He nodded slowly. "You did."

A tear slipped down her face and she swallowed hard. "But I'm alive now…how?"

"I don't know exactly. You were fed vampire blood before it happened….."

He looked lost as she took in a sharp breath before breaking down in a sob. "I'm in transition."

Stefan spoke up and Damon was more than grateful. "Possibly but you're Mother and Lucy suggested something else. They suggested that your body took the vampire blood and used it as a kick starter to change you into an ancient form of witch. They said it's happened before though they've never witnessed it for themselves."

"I don't understand."

"Yeah we don't either." Carolyn said. "But the point is, is that you're here…everything else we'll figure out later."

Bonnie nodded but it seemed out of reflex. She looked up at Damon with wet eyes and a trembling bottom lip. "What do I do if I'm transitioning?"

"Do you want the right answer or the Damon answer?"

"The Damon answer."

"You complete the transition and I teach you how to live as a vampire."

Tears slipped down her face. "I can't kill people, Damon. I can't do that and be ok with living. But I don't want to die again. I don't' want to have to make this choice again…me or the rest of the world. I don't want to do this!" She broke down completely and could barely breathe.

He stood and pulled her off the stool to stand in front of him. He pulled her in close and she buried her face in his chest and dug her fingers into the fabric of the back of his shirt. He laid his cheek on the top of her head as he spoke.

"Then don't. Let me make this choice for you. I will take care of you, Bonnie if you let me. I will protect you and lead you through this. All you have to do is let me."

She looked up with a tear stained face. "You know me, Damon. I have to make the right choice whether I want to or not. And the right choice is to go along with nature and die when it's my time." Her smile was weak but there all the same.

He put his hands on either side of her face and held her in place as he stared at her. "You can't leave me again, Bon. Losing you that first time was hell. Don't make me do it again….please Bonnie."

A throat cleared and they turned to the three curious faces. "We don't even know if you're transitioning into a vampire or not. Maybe we should wait to find out first before the big speeches of devotion." Elena spat before walking out of the kitchen.

Everyone followed Elena out with their eyes and hanging mouths.

"I should go talk to her." Damon said.

"No…let me." Bonnie walked out of the kitchen with a little difficulty in search of Elena. She found her in the back yard sitting on the hard ground staring ahead.

"Hi."

Elena didn't answer back so Bonnie sat down beside her. "Do you want to talk about what just happened?"

"I really don't Bonnie but I guess we'll have to eventually." She turned to her then. "I feel like I shouldn't have to say this but Damon is my boyfriend…something I think you've forgotten."

Bonnie's face was full of confusion and shame which made her lower her eyes. But when she lifted them again there was nothing but malice. She barely looked like herself. "Jealously is a bad color on you, Lena. I can't exactly change how much I mean to Damon. Only he can and clearly he doesn't want to. I am important. I dare say more important than you. I'm truly sorry if that hurts you." She whispered the last sentence while lying her hand on Elena's arm and smiling sharply.

She jerked back when they heard someone approaching and her eyes cleared like the whole conversation had never happened. Elena didn't know if she was fooling everyone or if she hadn't actually meant to say all those things. The Bonnie she had just spoken to seemed like a completely different person and it worried her.

"Did you guys make up?"

Bonnie nodded and smiled sweetly. "I believe so." She turned and smiled at Elena and Elena could see none of the mean Bonnie in her eyes. What the hell was going on?!

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

The shaking could be felt throughout the entire boardinghouse. Everyone shot up in bed as the house rocked back and forth. Elena grabbed Damon's hand and looked worried.

"What is it?"

He shook his head. "I'm not exactly sure."

Stefan knocked quickly and then opened the door. Caroline was standing right behind him. "I don't know where it's coming from."

Before Damon could open his mouth to respond they heard a loud shrill scream coming from Bonnie's room. Damon was out of the bed and at her door in a second. The rest of the gang was right on his heel. He flung the door open and stopped in his tracks.

Bonnie was in the middle of the room floating just a few inches above the floor. Her eyes were bright blinding white and her hair was being whipped back and forth from the broken window behind her. Even more disturbing were the vines who looked like they had practically dragged and crawled towards her from every available window to wrap around her from head to toe in a small protective casing. She was speaking rapidly but seemed oblivious to the words leaving her tongue.

"What is she saying?" Caroline asked.

"I don't know. Do we even know what language that is?" Elena asked.

"Latin…but it sounds ancient. It could be Aramaic but I don't know how Bonnie would ever know it. It's not known by many still living."

She suddenly stopped speaking and the vines began to retreat at a rapid rate…ripping up flooring as it slithered out of the room and back into the ground below. Bonnie unceremoniously dropped to the floor. Damon rushed to her and everyone else encircled her. Her eyes were still white but she was looking right at them.

"Bonnie? Are you ok? What the hell just happened? Speak to me, damn it!" Damon demanded.

She grabbed his face and spoke slow and low, her voice almost unrecognizable. "A storm is coming." She took a deep breath afterward and her chest almost caved in from the act. She blinked slowly as her eye color returned and she looked around confused. "What's going on? Why is everyone in my room?"

Damon looked up to Stefan. "Well I guess that answers that question. She's definitely transitioning into something but it's clearly not a vampire."


	7. Chapter 7

So this is a smaller chapter…sorry about that. I actually planned on putting out a new chapter of Repose before writing another chapter for this story but this story kept knocking at the back of my skull. I am going to take a small break from it though so I can focus on something new for Repose so fans of that story give me a few days please! Either way this chapter is to get the ball rolling. This story is actually evolving into something way bigger in my brain…Jesus help! Lol! Hope you guys enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, its characters, or its concept.

Chapter 8

"Hey."

Bonnie turned around to see Damon standing behind her. She was sitting on the enclosed back porch swinging on a two person swing and wrapped in a fluffy white blanket. She had pulled the swing to face the sprawl of the backyard and had been watching the trees swing back and forth for 30 minutes now. It was 3 in the morning and she hadn't slept for more than an hour before waking back up. It had been like that for a week now.

"Hi." She said softly.

"What are you doing up?"

She shrugged a petite shoulder. "Couldn't sleep." She turned back to the expanse of green and as she began to rock so did the trees. They appeared to be dancing.

"May I?"

She looked up and saw him pointing towards the empty seat beside her. "Sure." She smiled sweetly and used her toe to slow down the swing so he could sit. Once he did she put her legs underneath her and he used his bare feet to rock them back and forth.

He looked at the dancing trees for a few seconds before turning to look at her relaxed profile. He smiled slowly. "Are you doing that?"

"Hmmm?" She turned from the trees and they went still.

"You're making the trees move like that….."

"Oooohhh yeah." She turned back to the trees and they started their waltz once again. "I can do that now."

"Wind?"

"Nope. I'm actually moving the roots and it makes it look like they're dancing. It calms me down."

He nodded and continued to rock them back and forth. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She cast her eyes down for a couple of seconds before lifting them back up to the trees. "About what's happening to me or about what your mother did?"

"Both."

"Ok…I'm scared about what's happening to me and I'm mad about what your mother did. Other than that I don't know what I'm feeling."

"That's ok. You can figure it out later."

"Damon?"

His rocking faltered slightly. "Yes?"

"Can we talk about our fight? You know the one we had before the graveyard incident."

"Is that what we're calling your display of stupidity? The graveyard incident?"

Her smile was quick and sharp. "Can we talk about the fight or not?"

He looked back out to the prancing trees. He was silent for several seconds. "I didn't mean it Bon. You need to know that."

"But you said it….."

He turned to her and she readjusted in her seat so she was facing him completely, her knees resting against his thigh. "I was mad, Bonnie. I was mad and hurt and pissed the hell off. I felt betrayed and I lashed out but that wasn't an excuse for you to go out by yourself and do something stupid, like not watching your back."

"You hurt me. You tossed me aside for her as soon as you had an excuse, Damon." She got off the swing and tightened the blanket around her shoulders while giving him a death stare. "You don't get to call me stupid when I only did what I did because you left me with no choice. I was alone because you kicked me out. That's just the truth."

She brushed past him but he grabbed her wrist before she could get too far. "Bonnie….I didn't mean it."

She wouldn't look at him. She continued to face the darkened back porch. "How do I know that?"

He let go for a second and stood before taking her by the shoulders and turning her around to face him. He placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her head until her eyes met his. He brushed his fingertips against her cheek which made her eyes flutter slightly, before cupping it. "You know it because I'm saying it. I didn't mean it. I could never mean that. I need you in my life."

"Not anymore….."

"What does that mean?" She cast her eyes down. He held her face and forced her to look up at him. "Hey, look at me. What does that mean?"

"Let's be real, Damon. You don't need me anymore. You have Elena back. And I'm not saying I'm not happy. I am. I missed her but I know what having her back means. It means that I'm not the important girl in your life anymore. I'm the expendable one again. And that hurts. And I'm not asking you to fix it…you really can't but I needed to say it. That losing you, even a little bit, to her…it hurts."

He hunched down slightly so they were eye level and brought his face within a breath of hers. "You are not losing me. You will never lose me. You, Bonnie Bennett, will always be one of the important girls in my life. Our bond…that's not going anywhere and no one, including Elena, can make me give it up. Ok?"

She nodded and sniffled a little bit. "Ok."

He smiled and placed a soft, lingering kiss beside her lips…so close he could feel the warmth. He felt his stomach muscles tighten and he took a deep breath so he wouldn't do anything stupid. Elena, was back, he reminded himself. He stood to his full height and wrapped her in a tight hug while lying his lips against her forehead at the same time. He felt settled…something he hadn't felt in a long time. Bonnie brushed her little nose against the middle of his chest and took in deep breaths of his spicy scent before settling her ear against his chest, her eyes facing the back of the dark porch with its wrought iron swing door and two windows.

On the other side of one of the darkened windows stood a tall, pale, dark haired beauty who had seen and heard the entire exchange between her boyfriend and her best friend. She watched now as they basically fell into each other, wrapping limbs around each other like a vine wraps around a trellis. There was trouble ahead and it was confirmed when the petite witch looked towards her and seemed to smile but it was gone as quickly as it had come and Elena began to doubt she had seen it at all.

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"Morning all." Damon announced as he walked into the kitchen. Elena trailed behind him, their hands loosely locked.

Stefan and Caroline looked up from the table and said hello. Bonnie stood at the counter stirring something in a large pale blue bowl. She stopped whatever she was saying to turn to the couple. "Morning."

Damon let go of Elena's hand and she simply let him go as he walked over to Bonnie. She poured herself some coffee and took a seat across from them, at the island.

Damon stopped in front of Bonnie and took his index finger to tip the bowl towards him. "What you got there, Red? Baking cookies?"

"Red?" Elena questioned.

Bonnie smacked Damon's hand in annoyance before looking around him to Elena. "Yeah…he has this obsession with seeing me as Little Red Riding Hood and himself as the wolf. It's really disturbing when you think about it seeing that the wolf wanted to eat her."

Damon turned to Elena and leaned against the sink behind him and watched as Bonnie started scooping up balls of dough and placing them on a parchment laid cookie sheet. He stopped watching for a second and looked up at Elena. "Bonnie always looks at the dark parts of fairytales which really speaks volumes about who she is."

Bonnie stopped what she was doing and licked a piece of dough from her fingers while looking back at Damon with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Damon just ignored her and kept talking. "But my comparison is actually really sweet when you think about it." Bonnie snorted but Damon kept talking like she had done nothing. "I always assumed Little Red was a witch you see. I mean what little girl just walks through the forest in a bright ass color like a bullseye for creatures unless she knows she can take care of herself. And then you have her grandmother who lives in the middle of nowhere and fears basically nothing so clearly…witches. And then you have the wolf, which would be yours truly who just wants a friend but doesn't know how to express it so things go a little wrong but the good intentions were there. Hence, a patchwork Oscar and Felix friendship!"

Elena looked confused. "Oscar and Felix?"

Bonnie and Damon both said, "The Odd Couple," simultaneously.

Elena's face became scrunched up slightly from the little display and Caroline decided to come to the rescue. "Elena you should ask what he calls Stefan and I…"

Stefan shook his head and took a sip of his coffee. "Could we not?"

Damon smirked. "They are Snow White and one of the dwarfs, Sneezy or Dopey, I would guess."

Elena laughed. "Why?"

Stefan grumbled under his breath. "Because Snow White is an airhead and the dwarves harvest diamonds to gain her love."

"My explanation was much sweeter but Stefan doesn't like this game."

"And me? Who am I?" Elena asked.

Damon sauntered over to the bowl of left over cookie dough and bumped shoulders with Bonnie on purpose while sticking his finger in the bowl and eating some dough. He didn't even look up when he answered. "Hadn't actually thought about that. Mmmm snickerdoodles."

Elena looked hurt but didn't say anything. She just watched as her boyfriend played house with someone else. Bonnie placed the bowl in his hands and pushed him slightly. "Go sit with Elena and get out of my way."

Damon rolled his eyes but did what she said. Bonnie placed the cookie sheet in the oven and just as she closed the door, her phone began to buzz across the countertop. She looked at the screen and her brow became pinched but she answered regardless.

"Hello? Oh…hi. Yes, I'm fine. Hold on, ok?" She walked out of the room without an explanation and worried looks overtook all of her friend's faces.

"I wonder what that was about." Caroline said as she looked at the empty space Bonnie had left.

Before anyone could respond, Bonnie walked back in and took a heavy seat on the opposite side of the island from Elena and Damon.

"Bon?"

She jerked slightly and looked up at Damon. "Hmmmm?"

"What's going on?"

She looked a little confused but realization hit and she looked down at her phone. "Oh…that was my Mom. She has some information for me on the witch thing I'm becoming or more accurately she has a friend that has some information on it. He's invited me to come visit and read everything he has on it."

"Are you going to go?" Caroline asked with wide eyes.

"Ummm I'm thinking about it. I feel like I need to know what it's in store for me."

"Where does this friend live?" asked Stefan.

"Some small town right outside of Salem." She got off the stool. "I think I should go. I'm going to shower and pack a small bag and get on the road." She was almost out of the kitchen before Damon spoke.

"Make sure it's actually a small bag." She turned back with a raised brow in question. "We're not loading my car down with crap."

"We?"

He smiled saucily. "You didn't really think I was going to let you go by yourself did you?"

"I'll be fine by myself, Damon. I don't need a bodyguard."

"Well that's too bad because you've got one."

She rolled her eyes heavily. "Fine. Whatever!" She left the room and Damon was off of his stool soon afterwards and making his way up to his bedroom to pack his own bag.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Elena watched Damon from his bedroom door as he folded and packed his small duffle bag. She knew that no matter what happened she couldn't let Bonnie and Damon travel alone together. She was scared to question why it scared her so much but scare her it did.

"How long do you think this is going to take?"

"What do you mean?" He was still folding and packing…he hadn't looked up at her when she spoke.

"This trip…how long do you think it's going to take?"

He shrugged and finally looked at her. "As long as it takes I guess. Hopefully no more than a couple of days."

She nodded and walked into the room before plopping down on the bed beside his bag. "Do you mind if I tag along?"

He looked confused. "You want to? It's going to be a lot of boring research for hours."

"I don't mind…honestly."

"Ok. Go ahead and pack a bag." He stopped at the doorway and turned back. "Oh and you're probably going to have to ride in the back for most of the trip."

"Why?"

"Bonnie gets car sickness. Sitting up front helps." He gave her a quick peck on the lips. "See you downstairs."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course she does." She muttered to herself.

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Stefan and Caroline waved as Damon drove away with Elena in the back and Bonnie securely in the passenger seat, until they were out of sight.

"You think the three of them going off by themselves was a bad idea?"

Stefan continued to stare at the empty space the car had left. "Definitely!"

They shrugged and walked into the house, slamming the door behind them.

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They had been driving for about an hour when Bonnie reached for the radio tuner.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Damon asked while using a fingertip to pull down his sunglasses to the tip of his nose, so he could give her a stern look.

Bonnie brought her legs up in the seat so she was sitting Indian style and readjusted so she was comfortable but continued to mess with the radio. "I'm looking for something actually worth hearing."

"And what exactly was wrong with the station it was just on?"

"80's screaming and rocker feelings….yeah, I don't think so." She said with a scrunched up nose.

He pushed his glasses back up and turned back to the road, before muttering under his breath. "No one should be allowed to mess with a man's radio."

Bonnie chuckled. "Stop being such a baby."

Elena folded her arms in annoyance and stared out of the window. Hopefully Bonnie would fall asleep on the long ride there so she didn't have to deal with this anymore.

DBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDB

Bonnie had both feet on the seat and her knees up to her chest. She was resting her body against the door with her sunglasses snuggly on while reading a book and listening to music through her phone. Everyone in the car had been semi silent for the past two hours except for the occasional exchanged couple of words but the two girls were starting to get hungry which was made clear when Elena's stomach growled.

Damon reached an arm back and squeezed her leg. "Hungry, baby?"

She grabbed his hand and squeezed with a sweet smile on her face. It seemed like it had been forever since he touched her in such an intimate way and she it was making her feel foolish for, ever doubting his devotion. "A little, yeah."

He nodded. "Then we'll stop. How about you, Bon?" He asked but she continued to read her book without any acknowledgment. He removed his hand from Elena's leg and she peeked around the corner to see what he was doing. He wrapped his hand around Bonnie's thigh and squeezed slightly and Elena's mouth became tight in anger. Bonnie jumped slightly and popped her earbuds out before turning to him.

"What?"

He laughed openly. "Are you hungry?" Elena looked at his hand and noticed that not only had he grabbed Bonnie's thigh but that his thumb was brushing back and forth over the soft skin. Her eyes burned from unshed tears as she became angrier. She tried to remind herself that she was overreacting and that Damon was hers and only hers.

"Oh…yeah, I could go for something."

He slapped her leg slightly before putting it back on the steering wheel. "Ok, so where are we going ladies?"

"Ummmmm….." Elena said as she thought about it.

Bonnie just smiled at him. "You know what I want?"

"Nope!"

Elena looked between them. "What am I missing?"

Damon shook his head in frustration. "Bonnie went through this phase of only eating macaroni and cheese with lemonade from Panera. It lasted for a solid month before I forbade it coming in my house."

"Oh, why?"

Damon looked in the rearview mirror at her with a lifted eyebrow. "She gets horrible heartburn when she takes in all that acid and then she complains for an hour after."

"Oh, yeah, I remember that."

He nodded though he clearly didn't believe that she remembered that about her friend. "Either way after the last time, I said it was the last time."

"Please! I promise I won't complain this time." He just gave her a sideways look. "Promise!"

An hour later, Bonnie was lying on the backseat with the heel of her hand digging into her chest while she moaned.

Elena squeezed the hand of Damon's that was clasped within hers but he just shook his head and kept driving. Elena turned in her seat, regardless, to look at Bonnie. "Are you ok, Bon?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She said through gritted teeth.

"You're some ancient witch now, aren't you? Why don't you just zap it away?" Damon said past his smile.

"Go to hell, Damon!"

He laughed and kept driving as Bonnie writhed in the backseat in pain.

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They had been driving for hours and exhaustion had started to catch up. Bonnie had already given up, passing out 20 minutes earlier. Elena's head was resting on Damon's shoulder while she had both hands wrapped around his free hand.

He moved his shoulder slightly to get her attention. "Getting sleepy?"

"Yeah."

"We'll stop at the next motel we see, ok?"

She nodded against his shoulder. "Ok."

They went silent for several minutes. "So, you never told me everything I missed while I was asleep."

"Ummm not much to tell."

"Tell me everything."

"Ok. Well after you went to sleep, Bonnie and Caroline went away to Europe for the summer."

"Really? And you and Stefan, what did you two do?"

"Well we didn't go to Europe." He muttered.

She leaned back and turned completely to him, one of her legs tucked under her and one dangling. "Why not?"

"Well…we weren't invited. They just packed up and left. I found out when I went to see Bonnie after we put up your coffin and she stayed away for 3 months after that. It was hard. Either way after she came back we just continued on like usual. The girls got an apartment off campus and they would come stay the weekends and we just existed. My mother wasn't around so we didn't have any drama. It wasn't bad but I missed you, of course." He reached over and took her hand before kissing her knuckles.

"And Stefan and Caroline? Are they together now? Neither of them will really talk about it."

"I don't think that's ever going to happen again. They seem content just being friends which is a bit of a shame. I think they would have been good together."

Elena felt a little twinge in her chest from the comment but she chose to ignore it. "And Bonnie? Who is she seeing? Because she has been single way too long." She smiled but she knew it was fake and that she was fishing for information. She looked at his left hand and saw it tighten around the wheel slightly before relaxing but his demeanor was cool.

"She's not seeing anyone and frankly I think it's for the best."

"Oh? Why? You mean because of the transformation she's going through?"

"Bonnie isn't ready for a relationship yet."

"I don't know if anyone is ever ready for one. I think you just have to get back out there and try. I'm sure she wants to get married and -"

"There goes a motel. Let's stop for the night." He cut her off. His face was cold and hard and she knew that that particular conversation was over.

He stopped the car in front of the office and parked it before running in and paying for two rooms. He drove the car around the other side of the building to where their rooms were and grabbed his and Elena's bags and ran them up to their room before coming back down to a waiting Elena and Bonnie. He looked in the back for a few seconds, at Bonnie's sleeping form.

"I'll wake her up."

"No, don't worry about it. Do you mind grabbing her bag?" Damon asked as he opened his back door.

Elena removed Bonnie's bag from the trunk and closed all the doors and trunk while she waited. Damon leaned down and slipped one arm under her neck and one under her knees before lifting her out of the car. She whimpered and moved restlessly against him as he walked to the stairs, with Elena close behind him. He whispered to her, "It's ok, it's just me."

Bonnie sighed happily and snuggled into his chest. He managed to open the door without jarring her too much and placed her on the bed. She was awake but barely keeping her eyes open. She got up and moved past them in a haze, taking her bag from Elena as she went. Both Damon and Elena looked at the bathroom door in confusion but Bonnie was right back out in an oversized black t-shirt and no pants. She walked past them again, silently, and stumbling along the way before slipping under the covers. Damon chuckled and shook his head before turning on his heel to leave but Bonnie's hand shot out and grabbed him.

"Can you stay for a little bit?" She looked up at him with wide eyes and Damon automatically nodded.

He reached in his pocket and held out the motel keys to Elena. She just looked at him in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm only going to be a couple of minutes. Just go to our room and I'll be there soon enough."

She huffed and snatched the keys from his hand before slamming the door behind him but at the last minute she changed her mind and stuck her ear to the door so she could hear what they were saying.

Bonnie looked down at her hands and looked ashamed. "I don't want to cause problems between you two."

Damon shook his head and slipped his jacket off before sitting beside her on the bed, resting his head against the wall. "You're not. Elena is just having difficulty adjusting to our friendship. She'll be fine." He looked at her profile as she played with her fingernails. He took her hand and rubbed his thumb back and forth on her palm. "Come here."

She looked back at him and smiled gently before scooting backwards and snuggling up to his side. He wrapped his arm around her and placed his chin on top of her head as his fingertips made their way up her shirt and began to brush slowly back and forth over her ribs.

"What's going on with you?"

She let out a deep breath and wrapped her hand around the middle of his shirt, bunching the material. "I'm getting nervous over meeting this guy."

"Over meeting him or over finding out what he knows?"

"The latter. What if this thing, I'm becoming, what if it's bad? What if I'm bad? I've been having these moments where I swear I can feel nothing but dark magic in my veins and then a second later it's gone. Maybe it's an omen."

"You are not bad and you're not becoming bad. I don't think you could be bad if you tried. And the moments you've been feeling is probably just your body still going through the transformation." He looked down at her and she looked up at him. "I know this is scary for you but Bon, when I think of the alternative, when I think of you being dead, I can't think of any reason why this is a bad thing. It feels like a break from the universe and I'm grateful."

She smiled and settled into him more. "I wish you could sleep in here tonight, to calm me down."

Elena felt her eyes grow large at the comment. They sleep together?! How long had that been going on?!

"I can if you need me to."

She chuckled. "I don't think Elena would be ok with that."

He laughed quick and sharp. "Yeah, probably not. How about I just stay until you fall asleep, hmmm?"

"That'll work." They settled into the bed more and she pulled the blanket up further on herself as she wrapped her arm around his middle and closed her eyes.

Forty five minutes later, Damon closed the door to his and Elena's bedroom, softly. He tiptoed around the room as he got undressed and slipped into the bed beside her. She wasn't asleep but he didn't seem to notice. He smelled like wildflowers and she realized that Bonnie's scent was all over him. She kept her back to him as she whispered her next words. "Did she finally fall asleep?" She asked with a sharp tone.

Damon was quiet for a full ten seconds. "She did. Goodnight, Elena." He turned over and Elena let the conversation drop.

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The rest of the car ride the next day was quiet and tense. No one tried to break the silence unless it was for the necessities of food or bathroom breaks and that seemed the best thing.

The man that Bonnie's mother suggested lived in the middle of town on a street lined in old Victorian houses from the 1800's. Damon pulled into the driveway behind an old station wagon before cutting the engine and turning to the girls. "Ready?"

They both nodded, neither one speaking, and opened their doors to get out of the car. Damon led the way to the front door and knocked which echoed sharply because the door was so thick. They heard the door unlock, one bolt lock and one lock that went directly into the floor. A man in his mid-60's opened the door. He was around 6'2 and broad shouldered and had silver hair from old age. He had soft pale blue eyes and a sweet smile that instantly put Bonnie to ease and once he began to speak, she realized a rich British accent.

"Hello. How may I help you?"

Bonnie stepped out from behind Damon and the man gasped and took a step back. "It's not possible….."

Bonnie looked confused. "I'm sorry, I think you're confused. I'm Bonnie Bennett. My mom suggested I speak to you."

His eyes were wide as he stared at her. "You're a seeker."

The three of them looked confused. "A what?" Bonnie asked.

"A seeker. An old type of witch that I assumed died out. You're mother told me that she assumed as much but I didn't think she could be right. It is an honor to meet you. I honestly never thought I would meet one in my lifetime. Please come in." He smiled at Damon. "You too vampire."

The three of them walked into the house and followed him into the living room. "Please take a seat. I'll get some tea and a book that will give you an overview of what you're becoming. We can delve deeper into it tomorrow."

They sat on the couch and waited, none of them speaking but all very suspect about what was happening. He was back soon enough and sat the tray in front of them. "Jasmine tea and of course for you," he indicated Damon, "blood." He passed Damon his own thick coffee mug and then passed the dainty tea cups to Elena and Bonnie after putting the right amount of sugar.

He sat down in an opposite chair with his own cup and studied them with a patient, relaxed look. "Where should I start?"

Bonnie took a sip and then put the cup down. "You could tell me your name?"

He laughed deeply. "Oh yes! So sorry! I'm Reginald. You may call me Reggie."

She nodded and looked at both Elena and Damon for support before continuing. "And I guess the next thing would be the book…"

"Aww yes!" He got up and came back with a small worn book wrapped in dark brown leather. "Here you are." He passed it to her and she looked at it in trepidation before taking it from his hands.

"You may take that to bed tonight. You all, of course, are welcome to stay and then tomorrow we can talk about all the details of what you are. But for now I will just tell you something you may not know yet. You are now immortal."


End file.
